Jeremy Sochan spent the first three and a half seasons of his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, but his former teammates appeared to give him the cold shoulder after the New York Knicks won their first title in 53 years. Victor Wembanyama and several other Spurs players walked off the court without shaking hands with their Knicks counterparts after Game 5 on Saturday, but Sochan still attempted to interact with them.
Sochan followed his former teammates almost all the way into their tunnel, but he seemingly realized they were paying him no heed and made his way back to the court.
Jeremy Sochan tried to dap up the Spurs after Game 5 but they ignored him 😭 pic.twitter.com/dIA452sHfT
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) June 16, 2026
That was disappointing. Then again, Sochan was talking trash to Wembanyama during Game 5. The two-time All-Star smacked him on the chest at one point after being subjected to trash talk. Sochan even got in Wembanyama’s way at one point, but the Frenchman bumped him and then walked past. There was definitely some spiciness here.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown would also sub Sochan in for the first time in Game 5 with 8.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The 23-year-old was tasked with guarding Wembanyama, and Mikal Bridges hilariously praised him on his Instagram Live on Monday.
“Jeremy Sochan… n****’s a savage, bro,” Bridges said, via Legion Hoops. “That n****’s the ultimate savage. He don’t play all playoffs, all Finals, and you put that n**** in the last 10 seconds of the game, and you’re going to tell him not to f*** up. Not to foul a n****. Not to give up an open three. Go guard Wemby… Victor. The f****** French n****? Savage, bro.”
That was an interesting decision. It could have backfired, but it didn’t, with the Knicks winning 94-90.
Sochan is now an NBA champion while his former teammates had to walk away empty-handed. He didn’t do much on the court during this playoff run, though.
Sochan averaged 2.5 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game for the Knicks in the playoffs. He wasn’t really in the rotation, which was the case during the regular season, too.
Where Sochan might have helped the Knicks the most is in devising a game plan for Wembanyama. He spoke about the blueprint to slow down his former teammate before the series, and it involved tiring him out. Wembanyama did indeed appear tired down the stretch in these games, and Sochan might take some of the credit for that. He knew him well, as they had become good friends during their time together in San Antonio.
The Spurs had selected Sochan with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Wembanyama arrived a year later as the No. 1 pick.
Sochan was a big part of the Spurs’ rotation during Wembanyama’s first two seasons, but then saw his playing time dwindle in 2025-26. That led him to want to go elsewhere to get more minutes, but the team was unable to trade him before the Feb. 5 deadline.
The Spurs then chose to waive Sochan days later, and he’d end up signing with the Knicks. With how little he ended up playing for them, too, though, you do wonder what the future holds for him.
