文班亚马与马刺迎来重量级揭幕战，强碰雷霆
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer / San Antonio Express-News, 2026-10-19 15:16:37
2026年5月30日，星期六，俄克拉荷马城佩科姆中心，西部决赛第七场第三节，圣安东尼奥马刺中锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）在打成一球后庆祝。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在迎来个人第四个NBA赛季前的最后一个休息日，是在德克萨斯六旗嘉年华度过的，这座占地广阔的主题公园几乎就坐落在马刺的后院。
不过，与周日涌入大门的大多数寻欢作乐的游客不同，文班亚马对过山车敬而远之。
“我没达到身高限制标准，”这位身高7英尺4英寸的法国大个子开玩笑说。
文班亚马的游乐园之行，恰如其分地隐喻了马刺即将开启的旅程——这场征途将于周二在弗罗斯特银行中心拉开战幕，常规赛揭幕战的对手正是他们的宿敌俄克拉荷马城雷霆。
Wembanyama on taking the crew out to Six Flags for Fright Fest https://twitter.com/Spurs_Nation/status/2112269634787553477/video/1
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 19, 2026
当马刺踏上球场，迎来去年夏天在对阵纽约的NBA总决赛第五场饮恨之后的首场正赛时，他们必定心怀高远。
同时，他们也脚踏实地。
“到了这个阶段，我们去年取得的成绩已经不重要了，”马刺主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道，“我们现在都处在山脚下，所有30支球队都正准备开启自己的旅程。”
一年前，马刺前往达拉斯征战揭幕战时，心里还没底究竟能攀登到怎样的高度。
彼时，他们最迫切的野心其实非常朴素：终结长达六年、创下队史纪录的季后赛荒。
单季拿下62胜？在那时看来简直是痴人说梦。
在多达12次交锋中击败卫冕冠军雷霆8次，其中包括西部决赛那场令人窒息的七局大战？想都别想。
打进NBA总决赛？绝无可能。
而在上赛季完成了上述所有壮举、甚至在这一过程中让自己都感到惊喜之后，马刺如今对于未来的一切可能性已深信不疑。
“我们清楚自己的实力，”后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说道，“我们知道自己必须以怎样的水准去竞争。”
“毫无疑问，我们有了更高的期望，”文班亚马附和道。
马刺的新征程从对阵俄克拉荷马城开始，再合适不过。
毕竟，正是雷霆在上赛季让马刺领悟到自己究竟有多强。
在去年12月那令人目眩的12天时间里，马刺三次挑落俄克拉荷马城，其中两场甚至净胜两位数。
这些胜利不仅提升了积分榜排名，更让马刺坚信自己属于NBA的顶尖强队行列。
“从那之后，”后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 表示，“所有人都知道我们是认真的了。”
西部决赛客场抢七淘汰雷霆，印证了去年12月那几次爆冷所展现的潜质。马刺已经具备了当下就去争夺NBA总冠军的实力。
周二造访弗罗斯特银行中心的这支俄克拉荷马城球队，与马刺今年5月送回家的那支队伍颇为相似。
尽管雷霆在一轮削减开支的操作中送走了角色球员吕冈茨·多尔特 (Lu Dort)、阿龙·威金斯 (Aaron Wiggins) 和以赛亚·乔 (Isaiah Joe)，但他们2025年NBA冠军阵容的核心架构基本保持完好。
两届NBA MVP得主谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 归队挂帅出征。身高7英尺1英寸的前锋切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 同样在列，他刚刚入选最佳阵容，正渴望彻底甩掉季后赛的心魔。
雷霆此番带来的考验甚至可能比5月时更为严峻，全明星前锋杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams) 和超级第六人阿贾伊·米切尔 (Ajay Mitchell) 在因伤缺席了部分分区决赛后，如今均已恢复至完全健康。
“从根本上说，我们依然是俄克拉荷马城雷霆，”后卫亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 说道，他的球队是全联盟唯一一支常规赛胜场数压过马刺的队伍，“我们希望成为同样类型的球队，坚持同样的原则，打出同样的风格。”
与此同时，马刺迎回了上赛季总决赛阵容中的前十号得分手。最引人注目的新援、老将前锋托拜厄斯·哈里斯 (Tobias Harris) 因左小腿拉伤恢复，预计将缺席周二的揭幕战。
Steph Castle on what to expect from Thunder https://twitter.com/Spurs_Nation/status/2112269326166495523/video/1
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 19, 2026
毫无例外，马刺全员都跃跃欲试，渴望与这支注定将成为他们在西部最强宿敌的队伍拉开新赛季的战幕。
无需放缓节奏过渡，无需在较弱的对手身上寻找感觉。一上来就是全美直播的重量级正面对决。
“我们绝不希望以其他任何方式开启新赛季，”前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 说道。
“显然，我们和他们之间颇有渊源，”前锋德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 说道，“他们能激发出最好的我们，我们也能激发出最好的他们。”
“太棒了，”前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 说道，“为什么不呢？西部最好的两支球队。他们想要赢，我们也想要赢。战个痛快吧。”
对于年仅22岁的文班亚马而言，这趟飞驰之旅的下一站或许直冲云霄。马刺上赛季一路杀入总决赛的征途，已经将文班亚马打磨成为NBA前五级别的巨星。
继上赛季全票斩获年度最佳防守球员并入选最佳阵容后，文班亚马如今已将目光锁定在过去两年均被吉尔杰斯-亚历山大收入囊中的MVP奖杯上。
文班亚马表示，尽管他一心想从这位雷霆后卫手中夺走迈克尔·乔丹杯，但他对吉尔杰斯-亚历山大持久卓越的表现也由衷敬佩。
“现在我亲身体验到了打到六月份、打总决赛、连续九个多月保持NBA篮球高强度的感觉是怎样的了，”文班亚马说，“我真好奇那些家伙是怎么坚持10年、15年的……这大概是那些伟大的NBA球员身上最令人惊叹的一点。”
文班亚马和马刺心里都清楚，这段旅程绝非总是一帆风顺。
上赛季冲击总决赛的历程证明了他们能飞得多高；而总决赛五场落败于纽约的苦涩，则提醒着他们前路仍有很长。
周二，面对再熟悉不过的强敌，攀登之旅重新起步。
系好安全带吧，这一次可不是儿童过山车了。
“我们清楚前方等待着什么，”尚帕尼说，“我们知道赌注有多大。我们知道作为一支球队想达成什么目标。我认为我们已经准备好了。”
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：Wembanyama, Spurs face Thunder in heavyweight season opener
Wembanyama, Spurs face Thunder in heavyweight season opener
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a play during the third quarter of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Victor Wembanyama spent his last day off before his fourth NBA season at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the sprawling theme park practically in the Spurs’ backyard.
Unlike most other thrill seekers who passed through the gates Sunday, Wembanyama steered clear of the roller coasters altogether.
“I couldn’t pass the height requirement,” the 7-foot-4 Frenchman joked.
Wembanyama’s amusement park outing offered a fitting metaphor for the ride the Spurs are about to embark upon, beginning with Tuesday’s regular-season opener against archrival Oklahoma City at the Frost Bank Center.
Wembanyama on taking the crew out to Six Flags for Fright Fest https://twitter.com/Spurs_Nation/status/2112269634787553477/video/1
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 19, 2026
When the Spurs take the floor for their first meaningful contest since Game 5 of last summer’s ill-fated NBA Finals against New York, they will do so with their sights set sky high.
And their feet planted firmly on the ground.
“What we did last year doesn’t matter at this point,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “We’re all at the bottom of the mountain, all 30 teams trying to start our journey.”
A year ago, the Spurs headed to Dallas for a season opener with no real way of knowing just how high they might climb.
At the time, their most pressing ambition was a modest one: end a six-year playoff drought that had stretched to a club-record length.
A 62-win campaign? That felt like a pipe dream.
Beating the defending champion Thunder eight times in a whopping 12 meetings, including seven white-knuckle games of the Western Conference finals? Forget about it.
An NBA Finals berth? Not a chance.
After accomplishing all of the above last season, and surprising even themselves along the way, the Spurs harbor little doubt now about all that is possible.
“We know how good we are,” guard Stephon Castle said. “We know the standard that we have to play at.”
“We’ve got higher expectations for sure,” Wembanyama echoed.
It is fitting the Spurs’ next journey begins against Oklahoma City.
After all, it was the Thunder who taught the Spurs last season how good they could be.
In the span of 12 head-spinning days of December, the Spurs knocked off Oklahoma City three times, twice by double figures.
Those victories did more than pad the standings. They convinced the Spurs they belonged among the NBA’s upper crust.
“After that,” guard Dylan Harper said, “everybody knew we were serious.”
A Game 7 victory on the road against the Thunder in the Western Conference finals confirmed what those December upsets had suggested. The Spurs were good enough to play for an NBA championship, right now.
The Oklahoma City squad that visits the Frost Bank Center on Tuesday will look similar to the one the Spurs dispatched in May.
Oklahoma City shed role players Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe in a round of cost-cutting moves, but the championship core of its 2025 NBA championship team remains largely intact.
Two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back to lead the attack. So is 7-foot-1 forward Chet Holmgren, fresh off an All-NBA season and eager to put his postseason demons behind him.
The Thunder should be an even tougher test than they were in May, with All-Star forward Jalen Williams and sixth man extraordinaire Ajay Mitchell back to full strength after missing portions of the conference finals with injuries.
“Fundamentally, we are still the Oklahoma City Thunder,” said guard Alex Caruso, whose team was the only one in the NBA to finish the regular season with more wins than the Spurs. “We want to be the same kind of team and have the same principles and play the same way.”
The Spurs, meanwhile, return their top 10 scorers from last season’s Finals roster. The most notable newcomer, veteran forward Tobias Harris, is slated to miss Tuesday’s opener recovering from a left calf strain.
Steph Castle on what to expect from Thunder https://twitter.com/Spurs_Nation/status/2112269326166495523/video/1
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) October 19, 2026
To a man, the Spurs are salivating at the prospect of lifting the curtain on a new season against a team shaping up to be their stiffest Western Conference rival.
No easing into things. No feeling-out process against a lesser opponent. Just a nationally televised heavyweight showdown right out of the gate.
“We wouldn’t want it any other way,” forward Keldon Johnson said.
“Obviously we have our history with them,” forward Devin Vassell said. “They bring the best out of us, and we bring the best out of them.”
“Love it,” forward Julian Champagnie said. “Why not? The two best teams in the West. They want. We want it. Let’s play.”
For the 22-year-old Wembanyama, the next stop in the ride might be the stratosphere. The Spurs’ run to last season’s Finals gilded Wembanyama as a top-5 player in the NBA.
After winning a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award to go with All-NBA honors a season ago, Wembanyama has his sights set on an MVP trophy that went to Gilgeous-Alexander the past two years.
Wembanyama says he has gained an appreciation for Gilgeous-Alexander’s sustained excellence, even as he aims to snatch the Michael Jordan trophy from the OKC guard’s grasp.
“I’ve now seen firsthand what it feels like to play until June, to play in the Finals, to play nine-plus months at NBA-basketball intensity,” Wembanyama said. “I wonder how these guys do it for 10, 15 years. … It’s maybe the most impressive thing about great NBA players.”
Wembanyama and the Spurs know the ride won’t always be smooth.
Last season’s Finals chase proved how high they can rise. The five-game loss to New York in the championship round reminded them how far they still have to go.
Tuesday, the ascent begins anew against an all-too-familiar foe.
Buckle up. It’s no kiddie coaster this time.
“We know what’s ahead of us,” Champagnie said. “We know what’s at stake. We know what we want to do as a team. I think we’re ready.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer / San Antonio Express-News