By Marilyn Dubinski | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-08-14 21:30:00
欢迎来到 Pounding the Rock 的 2025-26 赛季球员总结！本系列将盘点那些在圣安东尼奥马刺持有保障合同结束赛季、且获得了实质性的出场时间及/或扮演了关键角色的球员（因此不包括双向合同球员，因为我们今年几乎没怎么见过他们；不包括被交易走的球员；也不包括板凳深处的替补中锋，因为他们既无足轻重，而且现在都已经离队了）。
德文·瓦塞尔
2025-26赛季数据：出战67场**，场均30分钟、13.9分、3.4个篮板、2.5次助攻，** 三分命中率38.4%
合同情况：3年8000万美元剩余
年龄：25岁（9天后满26岁！）
乍一看，这些数据对德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 来说可能显得有些低。这是他自职业生涯第二年以来场均得分最少的一个赛季，而且在过去三个赛季场均得到18分之后，这看起来是一个巨大的下滑。然而，不仅他的角色发生了变化，而且我们也值得花点时间回想一下一年前，当时人们还在质疑他的进攻稳定性（尤其是在不占球权的角色中）、长时间在场上“隐身”的倾向，以及尚未兑现的防守潜力。
画面切回到今天，瓦塞尔不仅在本赛季打消了所有这些顾虑，而且还是在首发阵容中从第二、有时是第三进攻选择降为第四选择的情况下做到的。部分原因可能是“更轻”的角色降低了人们对他的期望，或者是他那些更耀眼的队友有时让我们忽视了他，但事实依然是，他在攻防两端都完美地扮演了马刺需要他扮演的角色，并且始终如一地做到了这一点。
尽管在战术优先级上，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)、达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 可能排在他前面，但当对手将防守重兵倾注在他们身上或进攻陷入停滞时，瓦塞尔就是完美的泄压阀。这在一定程度上是因为他拥有这支球队大多数人所缺乏的武器：稳健的中距离和急停跳投。他是主要轮换阵容中表现最好的球员，在10到16英尺距离的投篮命中率高达50%。他不需要非得杀入篮下或在三分线外获得空档才能得分，在紧急情况下，他完全可以自己创造投篮机会。即便如此，他的大部分出手依然来自三分线外——防守球员经常会漏掉他，而他则用非常可观的命中率让对手付出了代价。
在防守端，他表现得非常稳定，没有在防守轮转中漏人，同时也终于将自己6英尺10英寸（约2.08米）的臂展派上了用场。对手必须费尽心思才能过掉他，而即便过掉了，迎接他们的也是联盟中最好的盖帽手。虽然瓦塞尔自己不是一个盖帽机器（没有多少侧翼是），但他也有过许多令人印象深刻的盖帽，尤其是在马刺最需要他的季后赛期间。（对杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jaylen Williams) 和切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holgren) 的那几次盖帽立刻浮现在脑海中。）说到这里，他也是少数在整个季后赛、尤其是总决赛中表现始终如一的球员之一，在除了两场季后赛之外的所有比赛中，他都以极高的效率得分上双。
瓦塞尔本赛季的表现真的无可挑剔。他在自己的角色中默默展现着自信，毫无怨言，而是做好了所有那些不一定会体现在技术统计上、但却能决定比赛胜负的小事，比如设立掩护、积极跑动和干扰投篮。这就是我们一直在等待的那个稳健、高效的他，而他也得到了应有的回报——作为首发球员随队一路杀入总决赛。
展望未来
当瓦塞尔最初签下5年1.46亿美元的新秀提前续约合同时，其高昂的价格曾令人大吃一惊，因为这让他成为了当时马刺队史薪水最高的球员。当然，考虑到在亚当·肖华 (Adam Silver) 执掌下联盟工资帽的暴涨，以及在蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 那个时代根本没有这么多钱，这种反应显然有些过度了。但瓦塞尔今年依然证明了自己的价值，以今天的标准来看，他的这份合同完全符合他作为一名联盟前50到75名球员的身价。（作为参考，如果文班接受了超级顶薪，其价值将是瓦塞尔合同的两倍多。）
与凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 一样，瓦塞尔是目前阵中仅存的另一位“过渡时期”的马刺球员，也是NBA中正在缩水的“中产阶级”的一员（我指的是那些签约金额高于中产特例、但明显低于顶薪的球员）。随着更多年轻的马刺球员面临新秀续约，瓦塞尔将继续与交易传闻联系在一起，但马刺可能更希望留下他，因为他正是争冠球队所需要的那种角色球员：一个不需要太多球权、但一旦拿到球就能无所不能的全能战士。（如果要我猜测的话，如果马刺最终确实需要清理薪资空间，由于位置重叠，福克斯可能会在瓦塞尔之前被送走，但这只是我个人的直觉。）
与此同时，瓦塞尔需要继续保持本赛季的发挥，并证明自己对于球队的其他阵容来说并非可有可无。他通过展示自己在攻防两端都能胜任侧翼的能力，成功将自己与后卫三人组区分开来，在球队中找到了属于自己的定位。他不需要打出华丽的数据，只需扮演好被要求的角色并保持稳定，而本赛季，他证明了自己完全可以做到这一点。
（还有一件事：谁能去告诉一下对手球队和全美直播的解说员，他的名字发音是“VUH-sell”？我听到他被叫成“Vastle”的次数简直多得离谱，尤其是考虑到他已经在联盟打了六年球了。）
最佳表现
11月28日客场对阵丹佛掘金：35分、3个篮板、2次助攻，三分球9投7中
倒不是说有人会那么在乎NBA季中锦标赛（NBA Cup）——不过像马刺那样晋级的话确实挺酷的——但这场锁定四分之一决赛席位的比赛是他们本赛季最惊心动魄的比赛之一，也是瓦塞尔迄今为止表现最好的一场。在缺少了文班和卡斯尔的情况下，他带领球队对抗一支阵容基本完整的掘金队（这些年来他在这方面很有一套，掘金现在肯定把他当成“掘金杀手”了），这是赛季初的又一个信号，表明这支马刺队是动真格的。
最终评级：A
下一位：达龙·福克斯
往期回顾
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：2025-26 Spurs Player Reviews: Devin Vassell
2025-26 Spurs Player Reviews: Devin Vassell
Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2025-26 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, no players who were traded away, and none of the deep bench centers, since they were both irrelevant and are now all gone).
Devin Vassell
2025-26 stats: 67 games**, 30 MPG, 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists,** 38.4 3FG%
Contract Status: 3 years, $80 millionremaining
**Age:**25 (26 in 9 days!)
At first glance, these numbers may look low for Devin Vassell. It’s the fewest points per game he’s scored since his second season in the league and a seemingly big drop after averaging 18 ppg over the last three seasons. However, not only has his role changed, but it’s also worth taking a moment to remember back to a year ago, when questions loomed about his offensive consistency (especially in a non-dominant role), tendency to disappear for long stretches, and untapped defensive potential.
Fast-forward to today, and not only did Vassell put all those concerns to rest this season, but he did it despite moving from second, sometimes third to fourth option in the starting unit. Part of it could be that the “lesser” role lowered expectations, or his flashier teammates made us forget about him at times, but the fact remains that he filled the exact role the Spurs needed him to on both ends of the court, and he did it on a consistent basis.
Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle may have been ahead of him in the pecking order, but Vassell was the perfect relief valve for when the defense over-committed to them or the offense broke down, in part because he possesses something much of the roster lacks: a solid midrange and pull-up game. He was the best player in the main rotation shooting 50% from from 10-16 ft, he doesn’t have to get to the hoop or be open from three to score, and he can create his own shot in a pinch. Even so, the majority of his shots came from three, where defenders often forget about him, and he made them pay a very respectable rate.
On defense, he was consistent and didn’t fall asleep on assignments while finally putting that 6’10” wingspan to good use. Players had to work to get around him, just to be met by the best shot blocker in the league when they did, and while Vassell is not a blocking machine himself (not many wings are), he had many impressive ones, especially in the playoffs when the Spurs needed him the most. (The Jaylen Williams and Chet Holgren ones immediately come to mind.) Speaking of which, he was also one of the few players who was consistent throughout the playoffs and especially the Finals, scoring efficiently in double digits in all but two postseason games.
There’s really nothing to criticize about Vassell’s season. He was quietly confident in his role and didn’t complain about it, but instead did all the little things that don’t always show up in the box score but make all the difference, such as setting screens, keep moving and contest shots. This is the solid, consistent version of him we’ve all been waiting for, and he was rewarded by being a starter on a team that went to the Finals.
Looking ahead
When Vassell first signed his rookie extension of 5 years, $146 million, there was sticker shock over its value since it made him the highest-paid Spur ever at the time. Of course, it was an overreaction when remembering the cap explosion that has taken place under Adam Silver and that the same money simply wasn’t available in Tim Duncan’s time, but Vassell still proved his worth this year on a contract that, by today’s standards, matches his status as a Top 50-75 player. (For reference, had Wemby accepted the supermax, it would have been worth more than double Vassell’s contract.)
Like Keldon Johnson, Vassell is the only other “gap era” Spur remaining on the roster and part of the shrinking “middle class” of the NBA (what I consider players who are signed for more than the midlevel exception but decently less than the max). As more young Spurs come up for rookie extensions, Vassell will continue to be tied to trade rumors, but the Spurs’ hope is likely to retain him because he is the exact type of role player a contender needs: an all-around player who doesn’t need the ball much but can do anything once he has it. (If I had to guess, when/if the Spurs eventually do need to dump salary, Fox would go before Vassell due to positional overlap, but that’s just my own hunch.)
In the meantime, Vassell needs to keep doing what he did this season and show that he is not superfluous with the rest of the roster. He managed to separate himself from the guard trio by showing he could play as a wing on both ends of the floor, creating his own niche on team. He doesn’t have to put up flashy numbers, but just fill the role that is asked of him and do it consistently, and this season, he showed he could do just that.
(One more thing: can someone please tell opposing and national announcers it’s pronounced “VUH-sell”? The amount of times I heard him called “Vastle” was ridiculous, especially considering he’s been in the league for six years now.)
Top Performance
Nov. 28 at Denver Nuggets: 35 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-9 from three
Not that anyone cares that much about the NBA Cup — maybe it’s cool when you advance, like the Spurs did — but the game that clinched their spot in the quarterfinals was one of their most thrilling of the season and by far Vassell’s best. Down Wemby and Castle, he led the way against a generally full-strength Nuggets club (which he’s has a knack for over the years, they must consider him a Nuggets killer by now) in another early-season sign that these Spurs were for real.
Final Grade: A
Up next: De’Aaron Fox
Previous Reviews
By Marilyn Dubinski, via Pounding The Rock