Victor Wembanyama has looked nearly unstoppable throughout the 2026 NBA Playoffs, but former teammate Jeremy Sochan believes the New York Knicks have a blueprint to slow down the San Antonio Spurs superstar in the NBA Finals.
Sochan, who spent more than three seasons alongside Wembanyama in San Antonio before joining the Knicks in February 2026, recently shared his thoughts on how opponents can make life difficult for the 7-foot-4 phenom.
Speaking to Jared Schwartz of the New York Post, Sochan pointed to one factor that often gets overlooked when discussing Wembanyama.
“Being that tall he gets tired…Give him different looks and be very physical, and make him run. And he’s gonna get tired, he’s gonna have to take some plays off in my opinion.”
Few players in the league know Wembanyama better than Sochan. The two were teammates from the moment Wembanyama arrived in San Antonio as the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. They played together for parts of three seasons before Sochan was waived by the Spurs and later signed by the Knicks during the 2025-26 season.
The timing of Sochan’s comments is significant because Wembanyama has been the most dominant player in the playoffs.
The 22-year-old superstar has averaged 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.0% from the field and 37.0% from three-point range. His postseason resume already includes one 40-point game, four 30-point games, six games with at least 15 rebounds, four games with at least five blocks, and an NBA playoff record of 12 blocks in a single game.
Against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, Wembanyama elevated his play even further. He averaged 28.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.0 blocks while shooting 48.2% from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc.
The advanced metrics are even more impressive.
Entering the NBA Finals, Wembanyama leads the entire postseason in total rebounds, defensive rebounds, total blocks, blocks per game, Player Efficiency Rating, win shares, defensive win shares, Value Over Replacement Player, block percentage, blocks per 36 minutes, and blocks per 100 possessions.
That dominance is a major reason why the Spurs have returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
Still, Sochan believes the Knicks have a chance if they can force Wembanyama to constantly move and expend energy on both ends of the floor. New York has already shown it can compete with San Antonio. The two teams split their regular-season series, with each team winning once on its home floor.
The Knicks also defeated the Spurs in the NBA Cup Final earlier this season. Now they will try to do it four more times on the biggest stage.
Whether Sochan’s strategy works remains to be seen. Slowing down Wembanyama has become one of the toughest challenges in basketball. But if anyone understands the strengths and weaknesses of the Spurs superstar, it is a player who spent years sharing the court, locker room, and practice floor with him.
The NBA Finals will reveal whether the Knicks can turn that insider knowledge into a championship-winning game plan.
