By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-07-11 12:19:48
2026年7月3日，加利福尼亚州旧金山大通中心，在NBA夏季联赛加州经典赛下半场比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队10号小塔里斯·里德 (Tarris Reed Jr.) 面对迈阿密热火队50号弗拉迪斯拉夫·戈尔丁 (Vladislav Goldin) 试图在内线投篮。
拉斯维加斯——在周四马刺以66-93不敌亚特兰大老鹰的比赛中，坐在替补席上的马刺夏联球员们也得到了“锻炼”——因为每当这位新秀中锋得分时，他们都会兴奋地从座位上跳起来。
毫无疑问，他们也会为其他球员的成功庆祝。但显而易见的是，每当备受欢迎的里德做出亮眼表现时，他们都会感到由衷的高兴。
“他是一个极好的人，”新秀后卫贾科比·吉莱斯皮 (Ja’Kobi Gillespie) 说道，“和他相处非常舒服。我觉得大家都喜欢他。”
的确，如果马刺夏联队要投票选出一位队长，里德可能会以压倒性的优势胜出。
“他是一个非常接地气、很酷的人，他的信仰非常坚定，并且他也展现了这一点，”吉莱斯皮说道，“我觉得在很大程度上，他是一个不需要说太多话就能起到带头作用的领袖。这就是他的个人魅力所在。”
此外，这位22岁的前康涅狄格大学球员的打球风格也极具感染力。他拼抢凶悍、坚持不懈且球商极高，这些特质在对阵老鹰的比赛初期让他受益匪浅——他多次抢下前场篮板后二次进攻得分，或者接到吉莱斯皮和其他组织者的内线传球轻松转化成得分。
在全队其他成员手感挣扎时，这位身高6英尺10英寸（约2.08米）、体重270磅（约122公斤）的中锋从开场哨响那一刻起就表现得异常活跃。当全场比赛结束的哨声响起时，他在21分钟的出场时间里交出了14分、10个篮板（其中4个前场篮板）、2次助攻和1次抢断的答卷，这样的表现让他的队友们对他更加钦佩。
“他简直就是个野兽，在内线体型巨大，非常难对付，”吉莱斯皮在谈到这位首轮第26顺位新秀时说道。
2025年NBA选秀大会的首轮第14顺位新秀卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 也对里德赞不绝口。
“他是个棒极了的球员，”布莱恩特说道，“非常聪明，是个非常好的孩子，出身于一个良好的家庭。我对他没有任何怨言。他太棒了。我们的招募部门以及整个教练组在寻找优秀人才方面做得非常出色，他们首先看重的是人品。显然，篮球实力是这些球员被选中的重要原因。但理解我们作为人所坚守的标准同样非常重要，而他在这一方面的表现堪称完美。”
里德受欢迎的另一个原因在于：他每天都散发着一种感恩的态度。
“这是一种恩赐，”在谈到进入NBA时他说道，“我感谢上帝能让我处于这个位置，为圣安东尼奥马刺队效力。”
当被问及他那讨人喜欢的性格时，里德同样将其归功于自己的信仰。
“是上帝让我站稳脚跟，保持谦逊，并对所有的机会心存感激，”他在周五的训练后说道，当时球队正在备战周六对阵纽约尼克斯队的比赛。
“能来到这里就是一种恩赐，”他说道，“无论好坏，无论顺境还是逆境，我都会一直赞美祂的名，并乐在其中。”
里德被康涅狄格大学主教练丹·赫尔利 (Dan Hurley) 誉为“多才多艺的‘全才’”，他通过多种方式与队友建立联系。除了吹萨克斯管，他还喜欢阅读和下国际象棋。
“我有很多不同的兴趣和爱好，但我总是专注于最重要的事情，那就是我的信仰和篮球，”他说道，“但在篮球之外，我确实喜欢参与很多不同的事情。”
不过眼下，他的专注点在于向马刺教练组证明，对于他们给他的规划，他已经全力以赴。
“他带来了身体对抗优势，”马刺夏联队主教练科利斯·威廉姆森 (Corliss Williamson) 说道，“这是我们在赛季结束后讨论过需要解决的领域之一。对他来说，关键是要带来活力和拼劲。当他登上NBA这个大舞台时，他的出场时间可能会比较零碎。这也是我们在这里讨论过的事情之一：把你的全部奉献给我们，无论是拼尽全力的两分钟还是五分钟。无论你能给我们带来什么，都要展现出那种活力，这样你才能习惯这种打球方式。
“他做到了。他会带来我们所需要的身体对抗。他绝对是个充满竞争心的球员。这就是我们需要他做到的。”
上赛季在康涅狄格大学的35场比赛中，里德场均可以贡献14.7分、9.0个篮板、2.3次助攻和2.0次盖帽。他深知自己本赛季的角色将大不相同。
“我和塔里斯交流过，我说，嘿，如果你要和维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 以及我们队里的许多其他球员一起上场，你不会得到太多的出手权，”威廉姆森说道，“你影响比赛的方式是通过你的身体对抗和冲抢进攻篮板。”
里德对此完全接受。
“这是梦想成真，”他说道，“我一直渴望能处于这个位置。你想在最高水平的舞台上打球并参与其中。无论教练需要我做什么，那都是我想做的。就是要保持无私和拼搏。做一切需要做的事。打得强硬、展现身体对抗、做好掩护等等。这些我都能做得很好。”
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。
查看原文：Why Tarris Reed Jr.'s Summer Spurs teammates sing his praises
Why Tarris Reed Jr.'s Summer Spurs teammates sing his praises
Tarris Reed Jr. #10 of the San Antonio Spurs looks to shoot inside against Vladislav Goldin #50 of the Miami Heat during the second half in the California Classic, an NBA Summer League game, at Chase Center on July 03, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
LAS VEGAS — Tarris Reed Jr.'s Summer Spurs teammates looking on from the bench got a workout in Thursday’s 93-66 loss to Atlanta by jumping out of their seats every time the rookie center scored.
Make no mistake: They also celebrated the successes of other players. But it was clear they took great delight whenever the popular Reed did anything of note.
“He’s a great person,” rookie guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said. “He’s just a good dude to be around. I think everybody loves him.”
Indeed, if the Summer Spurs had to vote on a team captain, Reed might win in a landslide.
“He’s just a really down-to-earth, cool guy, and he’s really strong in his faith and he let that be known,” Gillespie said. “I feel like a lot of it is he’s just a leader without being super talkative. It’s just who he is as a person.”
Then there’s the way the 22-year-old Connecticut-ex’s playing style. He’s physical, relentless and basketball savvy, traits that served him well in the early going against the Hawks when he scored often after ripping down offensive rebounds or collecting feeds in the paint from Gillespie and other playmakers.
While the rest of the team struggled, the 6-foot-10, 270-pound center was active from the opening tip. When the final buzzer sounded, he had 14 points, 10 rebounds (four on the offensive end), two assists and a steal in 21 minutes, an effort that made his teammates admire him even more.
“He’s just a beast, super big down there, pretty tough to deal with,” Gillespie said of the 26th overall pick.
Carter Bryant, the 14th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, also raved about Reed.
“He’s a hell of a player,” Bryant said. “Very smart, very good kid, comes from a good family. I got no complaints about him. Great kid. Our recruiting department, along with our staff in general, just does a great job of finding people that are great humans before anything else. Obviously, basketball’s a big part of why these guys are selected. But just understanding the standard we hold ourselves to as people is very big, and he’s done nothing but pass with flying colors on that side.”
Another reason for Reed’s popularity: He daily exudes a sense of gratitude.
“It’s a blessing," he said of making it to the NBA. “I thank the Lord just to be in the position, playing for the San Antonio Spurs.”
Reed also pointed to his faith when asked about his appealing personality.
“That’s the Lord placing me on my feet and just being humble and just grateful for all the opportunities,” he said after practice Friday in preparation for Saturday’s game against the New York Knicks.
“It’s just a blessing to be here,” he said. “The good, the bad, the ugly, I’ll always praise His name and just have fun doing it.”
Dubbed a “Renaissance man” by UConn coach Dan Hurley, Reed connects with his teammates in a variety of ways. In addition to playing the saxophone, he loves to read and play chess.
“I got a lot of different interests and hobbies, but I’m always focusing on the main thing, and that’s my faith and basketball,” he said. “But definitely outside of basketball, I like to partake in a lot of different things.”
For now, though, his focus is on showing the Spurs coaching staff he’s all in when it comes to their plans for him.
“He brings a physical presence," Summer Spurs coach Corliss Williamson said. "That’s one of the areas we talked about addressing once our season was over. For him, it’s going to be about bringing the energy and effort. It’s going to be short stints (on the court) when he gets to the big show. That’s one of the things we talked about out here: Give us everything you have, whether it’s a hard two minutes or a hard five minutes. Whatever you can give us, give us that energy so you can get accustomed to playing that way.
"He’s done that. He’s going to bring some physicality that we need. He definitely competes. That’s what we need from him.”
In 35 games last season for UConn, Reed averaged 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks. He knows his role will be much different this season.
“The conversations I’ve had with Tarris is like, hey, if you’re going to be out there with Victor (Wembanyama) and a lot of the guys we have, you’re not going to get a lot of shots,” Williamson said. “The way to impact the game is through your physicality, crashing the offensive glass.”
Reed is all in.
“This is a dream come true," he said. "I always wanted to be in this position. You want to play at the highest level and be in the game. Whatever the coach needs me to do, that’s what I want to do. Just being selfless and relentless. Do whatever is called for. Be gritty, physical, (set) screens, things like that. I do it pretty well.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News