By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer / San Antonio Express-News, 2026-10-07 14:16:37
2026年9月28日，星期一，在圣安东尼奥胜利资本训练中心举行的NBA马刺队媒体日上，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫迪伦·哈珀 (2号) 正穿过球馆前往接受另一场采访。
如果要预测主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 会在周四马刺对阵亚特兰大老鹰的季前赛揭幕战中派出哪五位先发球员，朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 确信只有一件事是绝对板上钉钉的。
那就是场上会有五名首发。
尚帕尼表示，除此之外的大多数事情都“待定”——而且这种情况可能会持续一段时间。
“我认为这并不重要，”尚帕尼说，他本赛季可能会以首发前锋的身份开启征程，也可能不会。“我们可以一整年都用同一套首发阵容，也可以换五套不同的阵容。对我来说无所谓。”
随着马刺正全力备战10月20日对阵俄克拉荷马城雷霆的常规赛揭幕战，他们的首发五虎阵容在一定程度上仍未最终敲定。
全明星中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)、全明星后卫达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 以及冉冉升起的后场新星斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 已经锁定了先发位置。另外两个名额看起来仍有悬念。
“我们只想赢球，”上赛季NBA最佳第六人得主、前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 说道。“我们是一支非常团结的球队。不管是首发还是替补登场，我们的首要目标就是尽可能多赢球。”
周四晚在弗罗斯特银行中心进行的季前赛——这同时也是前布伦南高中球星、老鹰首轮秀金斯顿·弗莱明斯 (Kingston Flemings) 的重返故乡之战——或许并不能完全揭晓约翰逊的长期规划。
主帅目前尚未透露对阵亚特兰大时会有多少主力轮换球员出场。
阵容拼图中的重要一员——34岁的前锋托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris) 因左小腿拉伤已确定缺席整个季前赛。如果这位马刺在自由球员市场上的重磅引援确实预定了一个首发席位，球迷们恐怕要等到常规赛正式打响时才能知晓了。
在哈里斯缺阵的情况下，尚帕尼很有可能会重回上赛季后半段他所占据的首发位置——至少目前是这样。
“我信任教练，”尚帕尼说。“他需要我做什么，我就去做什么。球队需要我出现在哪里，我就去到哪里。”
然而对约翰逊来说，季前赛更紧迫的难题在于后场，那里有三名才华横溢的球员在争夺相同的出场时间。
福克斯和卡斯尔是上赛季的首发主力。而迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)，这位年仅20岁、有望在二年级掀起NBA风暴的天才少年，同样为自己赢得了更加重要的战术地位。
迪伦·哈珀谈及近期他与几位队友登上《SLAM》杂志封面，以及马刺自令人意想不到地杀入总决赛以来媒体关注度的全面提升。https://twitter.com/Spurs_Nation/status/2107517618827497489/video/1
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) 2026年10月6日
约翰逊承诺本赛季会想办法让这三人更多地同场竞技。
至少在公开场合，这位主帅并未承诺会让这三名球员同时首发。但他同样也没有排除这种可能性。
“我们只需要积累更多实战演练的时间，继续观察并感受怎样的搭配效果最好、能形成互补，”约翰逊说。“但他们天赋异禀，而且都是优秀的团队球员，所以我并不是太担心。”
对于大多数刚刚打进NBA总决赛且几乎保留了全套阵容的球队而言，谁来首发根本算不上是一个问题。
但对马刺来说，这确实是个问题。
上赛季最后24场比赛中，福克斯、卡斯尔、文班亚马、尚帕尼和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 组成的首发阵容取得了21胜3负的战绩，并在全明星赛后打出了全联盟第一的净效率。
随后，哈珀在NBA总决赛中大放异彩。接着，哈里斯也加盟了。
两个全新变量，一道熟悉的算术题。首发席位只有五个。
为了让哈珀以及（最终复出的）哈里斯进入先发阵容，约翰逊必须将上赛季首发五虎中的40%撤到第二阵容。
无论首发五人组的最终配置如何，约翰逊对每个人的期望都是一样的——无论是首发还是替补。
“他们的职责就是完成交代给他们的任务，”约翰逊说。“在这个过程中，会有竞争心，会有想多出手、多打几分钟的抱负——这没问题。这正是我所希望看到的。”
约翰逊清楚，无论自己做出怎样的决定，总会有人感到失望。
他希望那些觉得自己被看低的球员能把情绪转化为球场上的正向动力。
“我希望他们能把这种偶有的挫败感和愤怒引导到正确的方向，”约翰逊说。“如果有人出场时间变少了，那就意味着他们应该有更充沛的体能将其倾泻在球场上。”
至少有一位角色定位悬而未决的球员很庆幸自己拿的薪水并不需要去做这种高层面的决断。
“弄清楚谁首发、谁不首发不是我的工作，”尚帕尼说。“我认为作为球员，我们所有人关注的只有一件事，那就是带领大家重新回到上赛季的高度。”
这一进程将在周四对阵老鹰的比赛中继续推进，而且远未到达终点。
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：Who will start for the Spurs? Why two lineup spots remain up for grabs
Who will start for the Spurs? Why two lineup spots remain up for grabs
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) walks through the gymnasium on his way to another interview during the NBA team’s media day at the Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.
When it comes to predicting the five starters coach Mitch Johnson will roll out for the Spurs’ preseason opener Thursday against Atlanta, Julian Champagnie has one stone-cold lock.
There will be five of them.
Most everything else, Champagnie said, is TBD — and could stay that way for a while.
“I don’t think it matters,” said Champagnie, who may or may not begin the season as a starting forward. “We can have the same starting lineup all year or we could have five different ones. To me it doesn’t matter.”
As the Spurs build toward their Oct. 20 season opener against Oklahoma City, the identity of their starting five remains at least partially unsettled.
All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox and rising backcourt star Stephon Castle are cemented into the opening group. The other two spots appear up for grabs.
“We just want to win,” said forward Keldon Johnson, the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year. “We’re a pretty tight group. And whether it’s starting or coming off the bench, our main objective is to win as many games as possible.”
Thursday night’s exhibition at the Frost Bank Center — which doubles as a homecoming for former Brennan High star and Hawks first-round pick Kingston Flemings — might not shed much light on Johnson’s long-term plans.
The coach has not yet revealed how many of his regulars will be available to face Atlanta.
One prominent piece of the lineup jigsaw — 34-year-old forward Tobias Harris — has been ruled out for the entire preseason with a left calf strain. If the Spurs’ prized free-agent acquisition is indeed ticketed for a starting job, fans might not find out until the games start counting.
With Harris sidelined, it is likely Champagnie would reprise the starting role he held down in the back half last season — at least for now.
“I trust in coach,” Champagnie said. “Whatever he needs me to do is what I’m going to do. Whatever the team needs me to do is where I’m going to be at.”
For Johnson, however, the more pressing preseason puzzle is in the backcourt, where three talented players are all competing for the same minutes.
Fox and Castle are returning starters. Dylan Harper, a 20-year-old wunderkind primed to take the NBA by storm as a sophomore, has earned an elevated role as well.
Dylan Harper discusses him and several teammates gracing the cover of SLAM in recent issues and the general increase in media coverage of the Spurs since their unexpected run to the Finals. https://twitter.com/Spurs_Nation/status/2107517618827497489/video/1
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 6, 2026
Johnson has pledged to find ways for all three to share the court more often this season.
At least publicly, the coach has stopped short of pledging to start all three together. Neither has he ruled that out, however.
“We just have to get more hours of on-the-job training and continue to see and feel what works and compliments each other,” Johnson said. “But they’re pretty talented and they’re good guys, so I don’t have too much concern.”
For most teams coming off an NBA Finals appearance and returning nearly their entire roster, the question of who starts would barely qualify as a question.
For the Spurs, it is.
The group of Fox, Castle, Wembanyama, Champagnie and Devin Vassell went 21-3 over the final 24 games last season, posting the NBA’s best net rating after the All-Star break.
Then came Harper’s NBA Finals performance. Then came Harris.
Two new variables, one familiar math problem. There are only five starting spots.
For Harper and (eventually) Harris to crack the opening group, Johnson would have to move 40% of last season’s starting five to the second unit.
Whatever the final configuration of the starting five, Johnson’s expectations are the same for everyone — starters and reserves alike.
“Their job is to do what’s asked of them,” Johnson said. “And in that, there is competitiveness and aspirations to take the shots, play the minutes – and that’s okay. That’s what I want.”
Johnson knows there will be disappointment no matter what decisions he makes.
His hope is that the players who feel slighted do something productive with their pique.
“I hope they take that frustration at times and anger and channel it in the right way,” Johnson said. “If someone plays less minutes, then that means they should have more energy to take it out on the court.”
At least one player whose role hangs in the balance is glad he is not paid to make those kinds of high-paygrade calls.
“It’s not my job to figure out who’s starting, who’s not starting,” Champagnie said. “I think as players we’re all focused on just one thing and that’s getting guys back to where we were last year.”
That process continues Thursday against the Hawks. It does not end there.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer / San Antonio Express-News
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