When the Spurs first drafted Jeremy Sochan out of Baylor with the 9th overall pick in 2022, I remember probably being more thrilled with the pick than warranted. I hardly knew anything about him, but I did know he had size and was not a guard, and that’s all I wanted. If you ignore 2019 (when the Spurs drafted a bust PF in Luka Samanic and a truly “small” forward in Keldon Johnson) and 2015 (when they drafted and stashed center Nikola Milutinov), you otherwise had to go all the way back to 2014 and Kyle
Anderson to find the last time they drafteda player who was not a guard or small wing in the first round. (And even then, Anderson was more of a guard in a forward’s body.)
As good as some of those picks were — steals with Dejounte Murray and Derrick White late in the first round, Devin Vassell as their first lottery pick since Tim Duncan — others were merely okay or even complete busts that failed to address what was constantly an area of weakness during the post-Kawhi Leonard era: size at the forward positions. They finally changed up their drafting pattern when they took Sochan, and a he seemed like a great fit with the club, both by filling a position of need and bringing a sense of humor to a couple of rough “tanking” seasons.
He had a good rookie season with the Spurs, making the All-Rookie 2nd Team and proving to be one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. He also had a knack for defending the rim and grabbing rebounds despite being slightly undersized when playing center, and across his first three seasons, he averaged a consistent 11+ points, 6+ rebounds on solid shooting numbers — inside the arc. A good comparison for him would be Malik Rose: the Spurs’ undersized backup big man from their first two championships, but therein lies the problem. Rose was ideal for that role in the 2000’s, but a power forward/undersized center without a three-point shot just doesn’t fit today’s game, and that’s where Sochan found himself.
After winning the lottery and drafting Victor Wembanyama in 2023, experimentation began to figure out how to best utilize them together. There was the ghastly Point Sochan experiment in his second season (Wemby’s first), and he later lost his starting spot and eventually fell out of the rotation while dealing with various injuries during his third season. Finally, by last season, it was clear he wasn’t part of Mitch Johnson’s future plans despite having good chemistry with Wemby. He requested a trade and was sent to the New York Knicks, where he didn’t play a role but at least won a championship against his former team.
That would be the last bright moment in his NBA career that started promising but dimmed with time. He signed a training camp deal with the Portland Trail Blazers this summer but despite a solid preseason, he was waved before the start of the regular season. He was then drafted 1st overall by the Texas Legends in the G League Draft (the Dallas Mavericks’ affiliate), marking a stark fall from just a year ago.
At his introductory press conference, he was humble and respectful. When asked about the roller coaster of the last 10+ months, had the following to say:
“I think the way I grew up, my family, my parents; it’s always been like that. I could look at it negatively (the Portland situation). But when I look back at that situation, I think the two months I was there, I grew a lot. I was healthy throughout the whole training camp, preseason and open gym. So I think that was a blessing. When we got into preseason games, the minutes I got I think I used them to the best of my ability. I had good games. So what would be the point of being negative and angry for getting waived? Of course, you can look at it as that’s the NBA and I have a contract. But at the same time I have good momentum. So, why would I hold weight on something that I can’t control? And instead, be in this moment and do what I can do and keep that momentum going.”
He also discussed having to let go of the past and focus on what he’s learned so he can move forward.
“I think the biggest lesson for me is just being as present as possible. I keep going with this ‘presence’ because there’s a lot of things that you can’t control — in life and in basketball. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been a victim of the past where I’ve kinda held onto that, instead of acknowledging that and the just keep going. I think that’s the biggest lesson, for sure.”
It has certainly been tough to watch how far the former fan favorite has fallen. Even if it was for the better, I was personally sad to see Sochan leave San Antonio (enough so that I didn’t begrudge him for getting a ring with the Knicks). He mentions being a victim of the past, and while I’m not sure what his own context is, he is certainly a prime example of a player who would have been much better off in a bygone era of basketball than he is today.
Hopefully this isn’t the end of his NBA journey. While it’s odd to see a former NBA lottery pick with four years of experience enter into the G League draft, there are no experience limits, and he fit the requirement of having recently been waived from a training camp roster. Choosing the G League — as opposed to going back overseas despite his Polish roots — show that he is still very much interested in making it back to the NBA and is not ready to settle for anything less.
Hopefully his signature competitive drive and determination keeps him going, and he eventually makes it back someday. He was a fan favorite for a reason, and even if the parting was mutual, I think we can all agree that we want Sochan to get another chance in the NBA, even if it’s not with the Spurs.
