By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-06-14 03:29:17
圣安东尼奥——马刺距离伟大仅一步之遥，但他们终究还没走到那里。他们以为自己能跑赢年轻无经验的代价，但阿努诺比 (OG Anunoby) 追上了他们。最终，NBA总决赛在周六以一场“绅士横扫”落下帷幕。
在许多方面，马刺现在的处境与一年前的纽约尼克斯如出一辙——这也是大多数争冠球队在找到取胜之道前必须经历的阶段。在通过考试之前，失败总是先一步到来。他们碰上了一支能够将他们的防线拉得很开、并强迫他们按照对手节奏打球的球队。几乎在每一场比赛中，这种定位危机都击垮了马刺。
他们就在那里，距离突破仅一步之遥，却最终功亏一篑。马刺渴望比这做得更好。他们离目标并不远。但在NBA总决赛中，成功与失败是非黑即白的。
尼克斯在第五场比赛中以94-90击败马刺，夺得了他们53年来的首个NBA总冠军，这对于整个联盟和这项运动来说都是一个里程碑式的时刻。尽管马刺的这个赛季令人难忘——一支进度远超预期的球队，拥有一位正在成长中的潜在历史级巨星——但现在，它只是尼克斯这段载入史册的夺冠征程中最大的注脚。如果你的名字没有刻在拉里·奥布莱恩杯上，它最终就会像那些还留在包装箱里的“马刺2026总冠军”T恤一样，消散在虚无之中。
那些T恤本可以摆满圣安东尼奥的每一家商店，但马刺总是忘记比赛有多么漫长。当尼克斯超车、竖起中指并加速疾驰而去时，马刺却松开了油门。
纽约尼克斯正是维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 和马刺想要成为的一切：一支阵容深度雄厚、韧性十足的球队，围绕着一个独一无二、沉着冷静的核心运转。当看着尼克斯在自己的主场庆祝时，马刺能够看到自己通往巅峰的道路上还剩下多少距离。
在赛季开始之初，在经历了一个仅获得34胜的赛季后，文班亚马曾语惊四座，表示球队的目标是拿到第六种子。但没过多久，马刺就展现出了他们有冲击总冠军的机会。
在整个赛季中，随着文班亚马保持健康，马刺成为了一支势不可挡的劲旅，而他也从“下一个超级新星”跃升至MVP最终候选人的竞争行列。他们在惊心动魄的七场大战中熬过了卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马雷霆，但最终在总决赛中一次又一次地屈服于尼克斯的“绳圈战术”（消耗战）。
现在，随着马刺开始需要给一些廉价、年轻的轮换球员支付更高的薪水，他们必须弄清楚如何围绕他们的核心基石进一步优化阵容。
那么，文班亚马如何才能达到那最后的巅峰，马刺又该如何提升球队来助他一臂之力呢？
文班法则
马刺成为了NBA历史上第四支在单赛季内从乐透区跃升至60多胜的球队。无论是因为球场上的表现，还是因为他在场内外各种话题上的大胆立场，文班亚马或许已经成为了联盟的代言人。这是一个充满变革与崭露头角的一年。
但那个阶段已经结束了。
马刺在本赛季的大部分时间里都没有背负期望的包袱。他们迅速且令人意外地崛起为联盟顶级强队，但现在，他们已经成为了一支“不夺冠便算失败”的球队。
随之而来的是，文班亚马给人们带来的新鲜感将会消退。在整个赛季中，公众在很大程度上爱上了他在场内外的行事方式。但现在，既然期望值已经被设定在了最高水平，那么每当他显得力不从心时，压力就会成倍增加。
在季后赛的征程中，文班亚马有时很难应对聚光灯的压力，尤其是在西部决赛中马刺落后于雷霆、随后又逆转晋级的那段时期。他无法持续地将自己的意志强加于比赛中，这对于一个首次参加季后赛的22岁年轻人来说并不令人意外。他已经在最高水平的舞台上小试牛刀，而现在，人们将期待他每晚都能统治比赛。在这一点上，期望值已经不能再高了。
他在季后赛中发现，对手是多么能够通过身体对抗来消耗他，并逼迫他脱离舒适区。常规赛的那套规则不再适用，他必须保持冷静。
那么，他将如何应对职业生涯中首次面临的如此巨大的审视？
球队的下一步进化，始于加强文班亚马与球权之间的联系。尼克斯之所以能赢下这个系列赛，是因为他们的防守让文班亚马无法在舒适区稳定地接到球。他接球时很少能保持冲势和平衡。他无法稳健地在禁区内顺下。突破路线被有效地封死，以至于他无法一路跨步直插篮下。
今年夏天，文班亚马需要闭关苦练，开发出能够带入NBA总决赛的低位单打技术。在整个系列赛中，大多数优秀7尺长人所具备的面框跳投和行进间勾手都消失不见了。看看杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 是如何统治中距离的吧，他拼尽全力去到那些无论防守如何他都能掌控的投篮点。文班亚马需要蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 和卡梅隆·安东尼 (Carmelo Anthony) 那种能够稳定获得的投篮机会，这将是破解尼克斯防守的良药。他有很多可以发起的战术动作，但在低位或外线，他还没有一个能稳定使出必杀招牌投篮的特定区域。
文班能否在接球被推到外线时，转身、试探步、连续试探寻找节奏，然后突破完成一次舒服的跳投？他能否在罚球线延长线（肘区）接球，并在进攻发起点开发出可靠的摆脱动作，从而通过上下步直击篮筐？他在低位接球后直接翻身跳投的动作何时才能成型？
只有稳定地做到这些，文班亚马才能迫使尼克斯在他接球时就进行包夹，让他无法轻易触球。只有到那时，球场另一侧的空位投篮机会才会源源不断地出现。在总决赛中，文班亚马看起来能够掌控投篮选择并自信做出决策的时刻太少了。他必须成为一个更具主动性、而非被动应对的得分手。
巩固球队定位
文班亚马的得分武器库仅仅是问题的一半。马刺的后卫们无法在合适的时机可靠地撕开尼克斯坚固的外线防守，从而在内线找到文班亚马，尤其是在第四场下半场崩盘期间。执行力和时机是尼克斯防守剥夺的最关键要素。马刺很少能舒服地突破，并且经常在应该投篮还是传球时显得犹豫不决。
文班亚马向篮下的空切顺下，通常与后卫们做好传球准备的时机并不同步。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 必须提高他们组织进攻的大局观，并更自如地成为三分线外的威胁，以帮助缓解这些防守压力，尽管他们在今年季后赛中已经取得了长足的进步。随着他们的成长，他们两人都极有可能成为马刺将进攻提升到新高度所急需的那类球员。
其次，是球队的整体定位。马刺并没有明显的短板。他们只是还不如尼克斯。正如前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 在第四场比赛后所说，尼克斯是那支更渴望胜利、更有拼劲的球队。马刺还没达到那个境界，他们缺少尼克斯从布伦森和阿努诺比身上获得的那种防守经验与进攻端无畏精神的结合。
下一步是什么？
接下来是阵容构建的问题。尼克斯派出五名射手阵容的能力，是马刺在总决赛中的关键软肋，尤其是在马刺自身手感冰凉的时候。圣安东尼奥需要他们的两位年轻控卫在季后赛中对自己的投篮充满信心，但最大的问题在于达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 的适配度。哈珀已经证明了他现在已经为大场面做好了准备，马刺需要为他扫清障碍。他们如何在突出他迅速崛起的同时，依然依靠福克斯来保持进攻的组织性？
在整个赛季中，福克斯掌控进攻的感觉被证明是至关重要的，球队需要他在关键时刻找到正确的传球角度和战术配合。他在对阵明尼苏达时遭遇的脚踝扭伤在整个季后赛期间都困扰着他，在马刺季后赛征程的最后两轮中，他的投篮命中率骤降至40%以下。福克斯带伤出战高位脚踝扭伤的行为值得赞扬，这种伤病在常规赛中很可能会让他缺阵数周，但随着福克斯在秋季开始执行他的顶薪续约合同，马刺仍必须弄清楚如何平衡控卫位置的化学反应。
哈珀到目前为止已经接受了他的替补角色，并且由衷地感激能留在圣安东尼奥，但马刺还能让他留在替补席上多久？哈珀因其在赛季后半段的表现赢得了全联盟的赞誉，并展现出了自己有潜力成为超级巨星的迹象。
“迪伦，我想我们都知道他很有天赋。但我不知道除了他自己之外，是否还有人知道他竟然如此有天赋，”德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 说道。“他曾对出场时间和自己扮演的不同角色感到沮丧。但在我们最需要他的时候，他挺身而出。我们拥有一位正在崛起的新星。”
这与马刺当年面对马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili) 时的处境不同，后者当时是一名次轮秀，正在努力在球队中寻找自己的定位。除非哈珀能够提升自己的投篮能力，达到像马刺目前首发侧翼那样拉开空间的效果，否则首发阵容中将只能容纳两名持球手。
瓦塞尔在进入25岁的赛季时，曾面临着关于他是否配得上2700万美元年薪的质疑，但他凭借自己在季后赛中攻防两端的表现证明了自己的价值。在球队的薪资结构中，他以合理的价格被锁定了三个赛季，他应该会继续作为首发侧翼舒适地融入球队。
尚帕尼拥有一个300万美元的球队选项，但同时他也有资格获得提前续约。马刺可以在今年夏天拒绝他的选项，并与他签下一份为期四年的合同；双方从赛季结束到6月29日的选项截止日之间有时间来解决这个问题。
在季后赛中经常将出场时间输给卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 的哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 将进入自由市场，同时球队还拥有非税中产特例（约1510万美元）来签下另一名轮换球员。球队可能需要增强篮板球保护，并且毫无疑问会寻找更多的射手来围绕文班亚马。即使保持现有阵容不变，这支球队依然拥有一定的灵活性。
尽管马刺在交易截止日选择按兵不动并裁掉杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 的做法在当时是合理的，事后看来也依然说得通，但在总决赛中难以让文班亚马获得休息的挣扎表现，提醒了人们在最高水平的舞台上填补阵容中每个角色的重要性。在卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 之后，马刺的替补席上有三名替补中锋，但他们不想在非垃圾时间使用其中的任何一个。当科内特在对位中陷入挣扎时，他们没有一个强壮的、能抢篮板和终结的内线大个子可以派上场。这几乎是他们今年休赛期必须填补的唯一迫切需求，因为在其他方面，球队的阵容已经处于非常好的状态。
最重要的是，需要考虑文班亚马的成长历程。他用这个赛季向世界证明了他配得上所有的宣传和期待。现在，他该如何利用这一点？
在这次季后赛之旅后，他在全球范围内的知名度进一步提升，明年很可能会成为耐克和NBA市场推广中更具代表性的面孔。他将如何应对这种曝光度？他将如何回应这次季后赛的历程——以及它的结局？他能否在继续向前迈进的同时，坚守自己的原则？
文班亚马的“道德”核心将继续接受考验。当压力和失望等变量被引入时，全联盟对一位正在崛起的新星的看法可能会发生改变。既然他不再是那个没有期望负担的、闪闪发光的新玩具，他现在会如何回应？
他是所有人中最让人放心能够处理好这一切的人，但这依然将是一次考验。
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：How do Victor Wembanyama, Spurs learn from NBA Finals loss and take the next step?
How do Victor Wembanyama, Spurs learn from NBA Finals loss and take the next step?
SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs are close to greatness, but they aren’t there yet. They thought they could outrun inexperience, but OG Anunoby chased them down. In the end, the NBA Finals ended Saturday in a gentlemen’s sweep.
In many ways, the Spurs are in the same spot the New York Knicks found themselves in a year ago, the same spot most contenders need to live in before finding their calling. Failure comes before acing the test. They ran into a team who could stretch them thin and force them to play on their opponent’s terms. Just about every game, that identity crisis broke the Spurs.
They were right there, so close to breaking through, before coming up short. The Spurs aspire to be better than this. They are not far. But success is binary in the NBA Finals.
The Knicks beat the Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 to win their first NBA championship in 53 years, a monumental moment for the league and sport. As unforgettable as the Spurs’ season was, a team well ahead of schedule featuring a potential all-time great in the making, it’s now the biggest footnote in the Knicks’ run for the ages. If it ain’t etched on the Larry O’Brien trophy, it will eventually fade into the ether like “Spurs 2026 Champions” shirts remaining in their shipping boxes.
Those shirts could’ve been in every shop in San Antonio, but the Spurs kept forgetting just how long the game is. They let their foot off the gas as the Knicks cut them off, flipped the bird and sped away.
The New York Knicks are everything Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs want to become: a deep, resilient team, orbiting around a singular, unflappable force. As they watched the Knicks celebrate on their home court, the Spurs could see the runway left on their path to the top.
At the beginning of the season, coming off a 34-win campaign, Wembanyama made waves when he said the team’s goal was to be the sixth seed. It didn’t take long for the Spurs to show they had a chance to make a run at the title.
Over the course of the season, Wembanyama went from the next big thing to MVP finalist race as the Spurs became a juggernaut as he became healthy. They outlasted the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a thrilling seven-game series, but ultimately succumbed to the Knicks’ rope-a-dope act over and over again in the finals.
Now the Spurs must figure out how to further optimize the roster around their centerpiece as they start paying some of their cheap, young rotation players.
So, how does Wembanyama get to that final level, and how can the Spurs improve their team to get him there?
The Wemby Rules
The Spurs became the fourth team in NBA history to go from the lottery to 60-plus wins in a season. Wembanyama may have become the face of the league for everything from his play on the court to his bold stances on various on- and off-court topics. This was a year of change and emergence.
But that part is over.
The Spurs spent much of this season free from the burden of expectations. Their ascension to the top tier of the league was swift and surprising, but this is now a championship-or-bust team.
With that, the novelty of Wembanyama will wear off. For the most part, the public fell in love with his on- and off-court approach over the course of the season. But now that the expectations have been set at the highest level, every time he appears to be coming up short, the pressure will ramp up.
Wembanyama struggled at times to handle the spotlight in the playoff run, particularly when the Spurs were going down to the Thunder before coming back in the West finals. He couldn’t consistently impose his will on the game, which is not surprising for a 22-year-old in the postseason for the first time. He got his feet wet at the highest levels and will now be expected to own the game every night. The expectations cannot be any higher at this point.
He found out just how much teams will be able to beat him up and pull him out of his comfort zone in the postseason. The same set of rules won’t apply, and he’ll have to maintain his composure.
So, how will he deal with increased scrutiny for the first time in his career?
The next evolution as a team starts with strengthening the link between Wembanyama and the ball. The Knicks won this series because the defense made it impossible for him to consistently get the ball in his comfort zone. His catches rarely came with momentum and balance. He couldn’t roll through the paint reliably. Drives were walled off effectively, to the point that he wasn’t able to step through all the way to the rim.
This summer, Wembanyama will need to get in the lab and build out a post game he can carry with him to the NBA Finals. Missing throughout the series were the face-up jumpers and running hooks that belong to most great 7-footers. Just look at how Jalen Brunson owned the midrange, fighting tooth and nail to get to spots he would own regardless of defense. Wembanyama needs the kinds of shots that Tim Duncan and Carmelo Anthony could get to consistently, which would have been the antidote to the Knicks’ coverages. He has a bunch of actions he can get to, but not quite a known spot in the post or the perimeter where he has an inevitable signature shot.
Can Wemby have his catch pushed out, turn around, jab-step, swing the ball around until he finds a rhythm, then drive into a comfortable jumper? Can he get the ball on the elbow and develop a reliable separation move at the point of attack to get to a step-through to the rim? When is the turnaround jumper right off the catch in the low post gonna take shape?
Only by doing so consistently could Wembanyama force the Knicks to start double-teaming his catches so he can’t touch the ball. That’s when the wide-open shots start opening up on the other side consistently. There were too few moments in the NBA Finals where Wembanyama looked like he was dictating the shot and was confident going into his decision. He has to become a more proactive scorer rather than reactive.
Fortifying the identity
Wembanyama’s scoring package was only half of the equation. The Spurs guards couldn’t reliably crack the Knicks’ stout perimeter defense with the proper timing to find Wembanyama in the paint, particularly during the second-half collapse in Game 4. Execution and timing were the biggest things the Knicks defense took away. The Spurs rarely drove with comfort and often looked unsure of when they should take a shot instead of passing.
Wembanyama’s dives toward the hoop typically weren’t in sync with the guards being in position to throw him the ball. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper will have to improve their feel for how to set up the offense and get more comfortable as 3-point threats to help mitigate those coverages, though they made significant strides this postseason. They are both a good bet to turn into the exact players the Spurs need to take their offense to the next level as they improve.
Then, there is the overall team identity. The Spurs don’t have a deficiency. They simply weren’t the Knicks. As forward Julian Champagnie put it after Game 4, the Knicks were the more desperate team. The Spurs weren’t quite there, missing the blend of defensive experience and offensive fearlessness that the Knicks got from Brunson and Anunoby.
What’s next?
Then, there is the matter of roster construction. The Knicks’ ability to put out lineups with five shooters was the key weak point for the Spurs in the finals, especially when the Spurs’ shooting went ice cold. San Antonio will need their two young point guards to get confident with their shot in the postseason, but the biggest question is De’Aaron Fox’s fit. Harper showed he is ready for prime time now and the Spurs need to clear the way for him. How can they accentuate his rapid rise while still relying upon Fox to keep the offense organized?
Throughout the season, Fox’s feel for running the offense proved paramount, and they needed him to dial up the right angles and actions in crunch time. The ankle sprain he suffered against Minnesota hampered him throughout the playoff run and his field-goal percentage plummeted below 40 percent in the last two rounds of the Spurs’ run. Fox should be commended for playing through the high ankle sprain that likely would’ve had him shelved for weeks in the regular season, but the Spurs will still have to figure out how to balance the point guard dynamic as Fox begins his max extension in the fall.
Harper has embraced his bench role so far and is genuinely grateful to be in San Antonio, but how long can the Spurs keep him on the bench? Harper earned leaguewide adulation for his play in the second half of the season and showed signs he could become a superstar in his own right.
“Dylan, I think we all knew he was talented. I don’t know if anybody knew he was that talented probably besides himself,” Devin Vassell said. “He was upset with playing time and different roles he was in. When we needed him most, he stepped up. We have a star in the making.”
It’s not the same situation the Spurs faced with Manu Ginobili, who was a second-round pick and was trying to find a role within the franchise. Unless Harper can scale up his shooting enough to space the floor as well as the Spurs’ current starting wings, there will be room for only two ballhandlers in the starting lineup.
Devin Vassell entered his age-25 season with questions about whether he could justify his $27 million salary, but he proved to be worth it in the playoffs with his two-way play. Locked up for three more seasons at a good price within the team’s salary structure, he should continue to fit in comfortably as a starting wing.
Champagnie has a $3 million team option, but is also extension-eligible. The Spurs could decline his option and sign him to a four-year deal this summer; the two sides have from the end of the season until the June 29 option deadline to figure that out.
Harrison Barnes, who often lost minutes to Carter Bryant during the playoffs, enters free agency, while the team also has the nontaxpayer midlevel exception (approximately $15.1 million) to spend on another rotation player. The team may need to beef up its rebounding presence and will undoubtedly look for even more shooting to surround Wembanyama. There is some flexibility for this team even while keeping the roster intact.
Though the Spurs’ deadline approach to stand pat and waive Jeremy Sochan made sense at the time and remains reasonable in hindsight, the struggle to get Wembanyama rest in the NBA Finals is a reminder of the importance of filling out every role on a roster at the highest levels. The Spurs had three backup centers on the bench behind Luke Kornet and didn’t want to use any of them in non-garbage time situations. They didn’t have a beefy rebounding and finishing big to send out there when Kornet struggled with his matchups. This is just about the only immediate need they must fill this offseason, as the roster is otherwise in a great place.
Most of all, there is Wembanyama’s journey to consider. He spent this season proving to the world he was worthy of the hype. Now, what does he do with it?
He is becoming more famous on a global scale now after this playoff run and is likely to become a bigger face of Nike and the NBA’s marketing next year. How does he handle the exposure? How does he respond to the way this playoff run went — and ended? Can he maintain his principles while pushing even further forward?
Wembanyama’s “ethical” center will continue to be tested. When variables like pressure and disappointment are introduced, the leaguewide perception of a budding superstar can change. How will he respond now that he is no longer the shiny new toy without the burden of expectation?
He’s as safe a bet as anyone to handle it well, but this will be a test nonetheless.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic