On Friday night, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-120. The Spurs led for most of the game before losing a 16-point lead but got hot to close the game out. Unusually, forward Jeremy Sochan led the Spurs with 23 points, his first 20-point outing of 2025.
Sochan didn't even attempt a 3-point shot, but he offered 11-17 shooting to go with nine rebounds and played pesky defense on the Sixers' ball handlers, which is a role he will readily admit he is more comfortable in.
Jeremy Sochan Knows His Role in San Antonio
Sochan understands that when Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and Harrison Barnes are all healthy, he might not even start, and he knows better than anyone that the offense does not--and will not--run through him.
Fortunately for the Spurs, he has embraced his role as a disruptor and cherishes the rare chances he gets to dominate offensively, but he wants to be selfless.
"I'm not a player that's going to get five isolations a day, a game, and play that way," said Sochan after the game. "My style is about being aggressive, being a two-way presence for the team, being that energy, the connector. And there's going to be games like this. It's about staying the course and just trusting my teammates, the coaches, everyone around me."
Since being drafted ninth overall in 2022, the former Baylor product has not been able to play winning basketball, but he understands the long-term timeline in San Antonio and knows he can fit in with the Spurs' system.
"I'm a winning player," he declared.
Some fans, both in San Antonio and of other teams, find his brash and in-your-face playstyle to be irritating or polarizing, especially since he doesn't back his talk up with elite scoring numbers, but he knows that he doesn't have to score to impact the game.
He is one of the best on-ball hounds in the entire league, is an underrated offensive rebounder, and is a solid facilitator despite not having the chops to play point guard, as he learned last season.
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While Sochan isn't expected to get 20 points on a given night, he makes sure fans and his teammates know that he is one of the hardest-working players on the court even if it doesn't show up in the box score.
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This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 3:59 PM.