By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer / San Antonio Express-News, 2026-10-10 15:29:08
2026年6月10日，星期三，纽约麦迪逊广场花园，在对阵纽约尼克斯的NBA总决赛第4战打响前，圣安东尼奥马刺前锋大卫·琼斯·加西亚（左）在训练期间与助理教练科利斯·威廉姆森交流。
菲尼克斯 —— 大卫·琼斯·加西亚 (David Jones Garcia) 不需要医疗专家的诊断，就能意识到自己遇上大麻烦了。
他只需要自己那对灵敏的耳朵就足够了。
24年来，这位马刺后卫一直作为一个健全的人在这片土地上行走。他从未听过自己的脚踝发出过那种声音。
“我听到‘啪’的一声，”琼斯·加西亚说，“当时我就知道自己完了。”
去年1月代表奥斯汀马刺出战发展联盟比赛时遭遇的右脚踝严重伤势，不仅让他充满希望的新秀赛季戛然而止。
有一段时间，它甚至让琼斯·加西亚的人生停滞不前。这次受伤让他陷入了极度的消沉之中，甚至几乎不想迈出家门一步。
如今他已完全康复，并重返赛场迎来了个人的第二个NBA季前赛（周六在菲尼克斯继续进行），琼斯·加西亚开始重新找回曾经的自己。
抑或是，宛如脱胎换骨成了另一个人。
“感觉就像是我重获新生了一样，”琼斯·加西亚说道。
根据出生证明，琼斯·加西亚于2001年11月24日出生在多米尼加共和国的圣多明各。
然而，在篮球层面上，琼斯·加西亚如今正在庆祝一个新的生日：2026年10月8日。
周四马刺以116-123不敌亚特兰大老鹰的季前赛揭幕战中，琼斯·加西亚在下半场出战15分钟便高效砍下14分，这是他近九个月来参加的首场正式篮球比赛。
琼斯·加西亚目前签下的是一份双向合同，但马刺的15人正式阵容中仍有一个空缺，这为他争取一份正式NBA合同提供了契机。
他希望能与重返球队的老将乔丹·麦克劳克林 (Jordan McLaughlin) 竞争，在达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 这组明星三人组身后担任第四控卫。
对于身高6英尺4英寸的琼斯·加西亚来说，目前的势头相当不错。
“他看起来很健康，”主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道，“如果不知情的话，我认为没人会觉得他是一个刚从那种重伤中恢复过来的人。”
毫无疑问，琼斯·加西亚经历的确实是那种级别的重伤。他身上那些看得见与看不见的伤疤，便是最好的证明。
琼斯·加西亚右小腿传来的那一声脆响，仅仅是这段漫长考验的开始。
他的脚踝骨折了，这种伤势必须接受赛季报销的手术才能解决。随之而来的是漫长而痛苦的康复过程。
整整六周时间，对于琼斯·加西亚这样一位依靠闪电般的第一步突破和急停变向赖以生存的球员而言，他被禁止在没有辅助工具的情况下行走。
无论去哪儿，他都只能依赖一辆电动代步车。
这意味着他哪里都不想去。
“我几乎不想走出家门，”琼斯·加西亚说，“我不想让别人同情我，我不想被任何人看见。”
对琼斯·加西亚来说，这次受伤就像是一记刺耳的唱针划破唱片，骤然终结了他原本令人欣喜的新秀赛季。
作为现役NBA阵容中仅有的两名多米尼加籍球员之一（另一位是金州勇士的艾尔·霍福德 (Al Horford)），琼斯·加西亚在2025年夏季联赛打出亮眼表现后，赢得了马刺训练营的一席之地。
他凭借一份双向合同留在了球队，奔波穿梭于圣安东尼奥与发展联盟之间——此前一个赛季，他曾在发展联盟的墨西哥城压轴者队大放异彩。
11月20日击败老鹰的比赛中，琼斯·加西亚砍下12分，正式在NBA打响名号，并迅速成为弗罗斯特银行中心主场球迷的宠儿；随后他重返发展联盟大杀四方。
1月下旬，琼斯·加西亚入选了全明星周末的新秀挑战赛名单。
然而到了那时，他的赛季实际上已经结束了。赛季报销的脚踝手术已成定局。
这次脚踝伤势夺走的，不仅仅是琼斯·加西亚在NBA发展道路上的宝贵光阴。在一段时间里，甚至让他开始怀疑失去篮球后自己究竟是谁。
“毫无疑问，我热爱篮球这项运动，”琼斯·加西亚说，“没有了篮球，我非常自责沮丧。那段日子真的太难熬了。我基本上就是把自己反锁在家里。”
还有那辆代步车，琼斯·加西亚对它的厌恶程度，宛如蹒跚学步的孩子盯着一盘绿色蔬菜。
他打心底里讨厌那玩意儿。
“我习惯了用自己的双脚奔跑跳跃，”琼斯·加西亚说，“在代步车上坐了一段时间，回想起来简直难以置信。”
无法打篮球的日子里，琼斯·加西亚寻找了其他打发时间的方式。他重拾了阅读的爱好，翻出了落灰的Xbox游戏机，有时还会打开《NBA 2K》操控游戏里的自己。
在现实生活中，他无法跑跳。但至少在屏幕里，虚拟的自己依然可以自由自在地飞天遁地。
“我玩得还挺厉害的，”他笑着说。
一天又一天，琼斯·加西亚重新站了起来。最终，他重返球场。
直到六月份，他才真正开始找回自我。
在纽约打响的NBA总决赛第3战当天上午，琼斯·加西亚在麦迪逊广场花园与球队工作人员以及其他板凳席末端的球员一起，进行了赛后的加练。
数月以来，终点线终于第一次近在眼前。
“至少我能跑动了，”琼斯·加西亚说道。
这次伤病以前所未有的方式磨砺了琼斯·加西亚。他也从中对自己有了新的认识。
“我发现自己原来可以这么有耐心，”琼斯·加西亚说。
如今拿到完全康复的体检报告后，琼斯·加西亚已经受够了等待。
上赛季，他刚刚一脚踹开通往NBA生涯的大门，那扇门却又狠狠地将他关在门外。
他现在的目标是再次将它踹开——即便带着那只经过手术修复的脚踝。
“我把这视为职业生涯中的一个阶梯，是上帝给我的一场挑战，”琼斯·加西亚说，“现在我回来了。终于，我能够重新拥抱我所热爱的比赛了。”
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 the Spurs' David Jones Garcia feels like a player 'reborn'
Why the Spurs’ David Jones Garcia feels like a player ‘reborn’
San Antonio Spurs forward David Jones Garcia, left, talks with assistant coach Corliss Williamson during practice at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
PHOENIX — David Jones Garcia didn’t need a medical professional to tell him he was in trouble.
All he needed was a set of working ears.
For 24 years, the Spurs guard had walked the Earth as an ambulatory human. He had never once heard his ankle make that sound.
“I heard a pop,” Jones Garcia said, “and I knew I was done.”
The gruesome right ankle injury Jones Garcia suffered last January while playing for the Austin Spurs in a G League game didn’t just bring his promising rookie season to a premature end.
For a time, it brought Jones Garcia himself to a standstill. The injury sent him into a funk so deep he barely wanted to leave the house.
Healthy and back on the floor for his second NBA preseason, which continued Saturday in Phoenix, Jones Garcia is beginning to feel like himself again.
Or maybe like someone new altogether.
“It’s like I’ve been reborn,” Jones Garcia said.
According to his birth certificate, Jones Garcia was born November 24, 2001 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
In basketball terms, however, Jones Garcia now celebrates a new birthday: Oct. 8, 2026.
Playing in his first competitive basketball game in nearly nine months, Jones Garcia pumped in 14 quick points in 15 second-half minutes in the Spurs’ 123-116 preseason-opening loss to Atlanta on Thursday.
Jones Garcia is back on a two-way contract, but the Spurs have an open spot on their 15-man roster that could give him a path to a full NBA deal.
He hopes to compete with veteran returnee Jordan McLaughlin as a fourth point guard behind the star trio of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
So far, so good for the 6-foot-4 Jones Garcia.
“He looks healthy,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “If people didn’t know, I don’t think someone would say he looks like someone coming off an injury like that.”
Make no mistake, Jones Garcia most certainly is coming off an injury like that. He has the scars, both visible and invisible, to show for it.
The pop Jones Garcia heard emanating from his lower right leg was only the start of the story.
The ankle was broken, and injury that would require season-ending surgery to solve. A lengthy and grueling rehab process followed.
For six weeks, Jones Garcia — whose livelihood depends on quick-twitch drives and sudden changes of direction — was prohibited from walking unassisted.
He had to ride an electric scooter everywhere.
Which meant he wanted to go nowhere.
“I barely wanted to leave my house,” Jones Garcia said. “I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me. I didn’t want to be seen.”
For Jones Garcia, the injury brought a record-scratching end to what had been, up to that point, a feel-good rookie season.
One of only two Dominican-born players on active NBA rosters — Golden State’s Al Horford is the other – Jones Garcia earned a training camp spot with the Spurs after a standout 2025 Summer League.
He made the team on a two-way contract, splitting his time between San Antonio and the G League, where he had been a star the previous season with the Mexico City Capitanes.
Jones Garcia announced himself to the NBA with 12 points in a Nov. 20 victory over Atlanta, quickly becoming a fan favorite at the Frost Bank Center, then went back to tearing up the G League.
In late January, Jones Garcia was named a participant in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend.
By then, however, his season was already over. Season-ending ankle surgery was looming.
The ankle injury cost Jones Garcia more than valuable time in his NBA development. For a while, it left him wondering who he was without basketball.
“Obviously I love the game of basketball,” Jones Garcia said. “Without the game, I was down on myself. It was hard. I basically locked myself in my house.”
Then there was the scooter, which Jones Garcia came to loathe with the intensity of a toddler staring down a plate of green vegetables.
He absolutely hated the thing.
“I’m used to being on my two feet, running and jumping,” Jones Garcia said. “Being on that scooter for a little while, it’s hard to believe.”
With basketball taken away, Jones Garcia found other ways to pass the time. He renewed his interest in reading and dusted off his Xbox, sometimes firing up NBA 2K to play as himself.
He couldn’t run or jump in real life. On the screen, at least, his virtual self was still free to do both.
“I got pretty good at it,” he said.
Day by day, Jones Garcia got back on his feet. Eventually, he got back on the court.
It wasn’t until June that he started to feel like himself again.
On the morning of Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York, Jones Garcia joined team staffers and other end-of-the-bench players for a post-practice workout at Madison Square Garden.
For the first time in months, the finish line was finally in sight.
“At least I was moving,” Jones Garcia said.
The injury tested Jones Garcia in ways he hadn’t anticipated. He learned something about himself.
“How patient I can be,” Jones Garcia said.
Now with a clean bill of health, Jones Garcia is done waiting.
Last season, he kicked open the door to an NBA career, only to have it slammed shut again.
His goal now is to kick it open once more — surgically repaired ankle and all.
“It’s something I look at as a step in my career, a challenge that God sent me,” Jones Garcia said. “Now I’m here. Finally, I can get back to the game I love.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer / San Antonio Express-News