By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-07-03 13:41:15
圣安东尼奥马刺队新秀小塔里斯·里德（右）在圣安东尼奥胜利资本表现中心举行的新闻发布会上，与他的新秀队友贾科比·吉莱斯皮握手，摄于2026年6月25日，星期四。
旧金山——在马刺队特意在NBA选秀大会上选中小塔里斯·里德 (Tarris Reed Jr.) 的十年前，里德却在不经意间选中了马刺。
这个故事要追溯到里德小时候与家人去佛罗里达州奥兰多的一次旅行。当时，一家人停在一家NBA主题餐厅，年幼的里德发现自己面对着一台街机风格的抓娃娃机，里面塞满了穿着联盟几乎所有球队球衣的泰迪熊。
12岁的里德下定决心，一定要抓到点什么……不管是什么都行。
“不知怎么的，反正我抓到了，”如今已是马刺新秀中锋的里德说道。
里德当时不可能知道，他从机器里抓出来的这只毛绒玩具，有一天会预示他的未来。
“我抓到的是马刺队的泰迪熊，”里德说。
里德把这只熊送给了他的弟弟特雷弗 (Trevor)，特雷弗在接下来的10年里一直把它放在床头板上，直到上个月，他们的母亲达琳 (Darlene) 在圣路易斯的家中为里德举办NBA选秀观看派对时，才把它拿出来掸去灰尘。
当马刺队通过交易换来首轮末段选秀权，并用第26号签选中里德时，这感觉就像是宇宙在微笑并点头示意。
“我当时心想，‘天哪，这真的太疯狂了，’”里德说。
周五，里德与银黑军团之间奇妙的宇宙联结迎来了高潮——就像很久以前赢得的那只泰迪熊一样，他穿上了马刺队的球衣，在旧金山举行的加州经典赛中迎来了自己的夏联首秀，对手是迈阿密热火队。
作为一名来自康涅狄格大学、身高6英尺11英寸、体重245磅的强壮内线，里德本人可不是什么可爱的毛绒玩具。
马刺队选中这位22岁的球员，是为了让他展现他所说的“丑陋、强硬”的打球风格。
扎实的掩护、强悍的篮板、凶悍的护筐，以及身体对抗上的优势。
在夏季联赛的早期训练中，助理教练科利斯·威廉姆森 (Corliss Williamson)——他在球员时代有着一个名副其实的绰号“大恶棍 (Big Nasty)”——在这位马刺新秀身上看到了这个绰号的法定继承人。
“他拥有强壮的体魄，”在旧金山和拉斯维加斯执教马刺夏联队伍的威廉姆森说道，“他知道如何很好地利用自己的身体，懂得卡位角度，脚步移动也很棒。所以，看到他带着这种对抗性融入球队，真的很棒。”
里德是马刺队上个月选中的四名新秀之一。其中三人正代表马刺出战夏季联赛。
来自肯塔基大学、身高6英尺10英寸的强壮内线杰登·昆坦斯 (Jayden Quaintance) 因右膝伤势管理已被确认缺席夏季联赛，该伤势曾导致他在两个大学赛季中仅出战了28场比赛。
来自田纳西大学的后卫贾科比·吉莱斯皮 (Ja’Kobi Gillespie) 和来自杜克大学的前锋马利克·布朗 (Maliq Brown) 是马刺在第二轮选中的两位潜力新秀，他们将获得展现自我的机会。
对于这三位健康的马刺新秀来说，加州经典赛代表着他们首次有机会在接近NBA级别的赛场上展示自己的身手。
“这些年轻人在大学里都有着出色的表现，而我们马刺队今年也度过了一个不错的赛季，”威廉姆森说，“因此，让他们适应我们的文化和我们想做的事情，帮助他们做好准备，这绝对是一件有趣且令人兴奋的事。”
作为今年选秀大会中年龄最大的球员之一，里德在密歇根大学效力了两个赛季，随后在康涅狄格大学完成了最后两个赛季的大学生涯，他比大多数新秀都做好了更充分的准备去为球队做出贡献。
在康涅狄格大学的大四赛季，里德场均贡献14.7分和9个篮板，在这支由丹·赫利 (Dan Hurley) 执教的球队中扮演着粘合剂的角色，并帮助球队一路杀入NCAA全国总决赛，最终惜败于密歇根大学。
在锦标赛首轮对阵福曼大学的比赛中，里德砍下31分和27个篮板的杰作，被证明是现代“疯狂三月”历史上最伟大的个人表演之一。
他是58年来首位在NCAA锦标赛中打出30+25数据的球员，也是历史仅有的三位达成此成就的球员之一。另外两位是休斯敦大学的埃尔文·海耶斯 (Elvin Hayes) 和俄亥俄州立大学的杰里·卢卡斯 (Jerry Lucas)，这两位都是奈史密斯篮球名人堂成员。
马刺队总经理布赖恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 乐观地认为，里德——以及未来的昆坦斯——将为已经拥有NBA现役最佳防守球员维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的前场注入强大的力量。
“他们是两位非常优秀的球员，为我们的球队增添了我们非常看重的活力和元素，”莱特说，“我们是一支节奏快、打法迅速的球队。为了做到这一点，你必须完成防守、抢下篮板、保护篮筐，并依靠防守带动进攻。”
的确，里德那种“丑陋、强硬”的比赛方式并不华丽。对于夏季联赛的普通观众来说，他可能不会在电视屏幕上显得格外耀眼。
马刺队看中里德的一点，就是他除了赢下篮球比赛之外，对其他任何事情都毫无兴趣。
“我觉得这就是帮助我们（在康涅狄格大学）赢球的原因，伙计，”里德在谈到自己乐于干脏活累活时说道，“那些你可能得不到太多赞誉的比赛细节——我的掩护、我的篮板、我的身体对抗，以及在球场两端成为禁区的威慑力——如果这就是我为了赢球必须做的事，那算我一个。”
长期以来，里德一直梦想着将自己的蓝领精神带到NBA。
感谢奥兰多的那台不知何故兼职了预言家的抓娃娃机，他将作为一名圣安东尼奥马刺队球员来实现这一梦想。
有些事情，似乎真的是命中注定。
“这就是上帝的恩赐，伙计，”里德说，“这真是一种福分。”
由生成式 AI 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 a teddy bear gave Tarris Reed Jr. glimpse of future as a Spur
How a teddy bear gave Tarris Reed Jr. glimpse of future as a Spur
San Antonio Spurs rookie Tarris Reed Jr., right, shakes hands with his new rookie teammate Ja’Kobi Gillespie during a news conference at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
SAN FRANCISCO — A decade before the Spurs went out of their way to deliberately pick Tarris Reed Jr. in the NBA draft, Reed accidentally picked the Spurs.
The story dates to a childhood trip to Orlando, Fla., Reed took with his family. The clan stopped at an NBA-themed restaurant, and young Tarris found himself face-to-face with an arcade-style claw machine packed with teddy bears bedecked in the uniform of almost every team in the league.
The 12-year-old Tarris was determined to walk away with … anything.
“Somehow, some way I won,” said Reed, now a Spurs rookie center.
Reed couldn’t have known it then, but the stuffed animal he pulled from the machine would one day predict his future.
“I had the Spurs teddy bear,” Reed said.
Reed gave the bear to his younger brother, Trevor, who kept it on his headboard for the next 10 years until his mother, Darlene, dusted it off for Tarris’ NBA draft watch party last month at the family home in St. Louis.
When the Spurs traded into the back end of the first round to select Reed with the No. 26 pick, it felt like the universe smiling and nodding.
“I was like, ‘Damn, this is really crazy,’” Reed said.
Reed’s cosmic connection to the silver and black came to a head Friday, when — like that long-ago won teddy bear — he slipped on a Spurs jersey to make his Summer League debut at the California Classic in San Francisco against the Miami Heat.
A bruising, 6-foot-11, 245-pounder from the University of Connecticut, Reed himself is no cuddly plush toy.
The Spurs drafted the 22-year-old to deliver what he calls an “ugly, gritty” style of play.
Hard picks. Tough rebounding. Rugged rim-protecting. A physical edge.
Early in summer practices, assistant coach Corliss Williamson — whose well-earned nickname as a player was “Big Nasty” — sees an heir apparent to that moniker in the Spurs’ new rookie.
“He’s got a big body,” said Williamson, who is helming the Summer Spurs in San Francisco and Las Vegas. “He knows how to use his body well, knows angles, great footwork. So it’s been really good to see him come in with the physicality that he’s brought.”
Reed is one of four draft picks the Spurs made last month. Three are playing with the Summer Spurs.
Jayden Quaintance, a 6-10 strapper from Kentucky, has been ruled out of Summer League while managing a right knee injury that limited him to 28 games over two college seasons.
Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Duke forward Maliq Brown, a pair of prospects the Spurs grabbed in the second round, will have their chance to shine.
For the three healthy incoming rookies, the California Classic represents the first opportunity to show their wares at anything approaching an NBA level.
“These young guys have had good college careers and we had a good season this year for us as the Spurs,” Williamson said. “So to get them acclimated to our culture, the things that we want to do, it’s definitely fun and exciting to get those guys ready.”
As one of the oldest players in this year’s draft class, Reed — who played two seasons at Michigan before completing his collegiate career with two seasons at Connecticut — arrives more prepared to contribute than most.
As a senior at UConn, Reed averaged 14.7 points and nine rebounds, serving as the glue to a Dan Hurley-coached squad that made it to the NCAA national championship game before falling to Michigan.
Reed’s 31-point, 27-rebound masterpiece against Furman in the first round of the tournament proved one of the greatest performances in the modern history of March Madness.
He was the first player in 58 years to post a 30-25 line in an NCAA tournament game, and one of only three all time. Houston’s Elvin Hayes and Ohio State’s Jerry Lucas, a pair of Naismith Hall of Famers, are the others.
Spurs general manager Brian Wright is optimistic Reed — and eventually Quaintance — will add a formidable presence to a frontcourt that already features Victor Wembanyama, the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
“They’re two really good players that add dynamics and elements to our team that we really value,” Wright said. ”We’re a fast-paced, fast-playing team. In order to do that, you’ve got to get stops. You’ve got to rebound. you got to protect the rim and play off your defense.”
Indeed, Reed’s “ugly, gritty” approach to the game isn’t flashy. He might not jump off the television screen to casual viewers of Summer League.
One of the things the Spurs love about Reed is his complete disinterest in doing anything other than winning basketball games.
“I feel like that’s what helped us win (at UConn), man,” Reed said of his penchant for doing dirty work. “The part of the game you might not get a lot of credit for — my screening, my rebounding, my physicality, just being just a force down low on both sides of the court — if that’s what I got to do to win, sign me up.”
Reed has long dreamed of bringing his blue-collar ethos to the NBA.
Thanks to an Orlando claw machine that somehow doubled as a fortune teller, he will get to do so as a San Antonio Spur.
Some things, it seems, really are meant to be.
“That’s the grace of God right there, man,” Reed said. “It’s just a blessing.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News