It's safe to say this hasn't been the season Jeremy Sochan envisioned. From starting the season at a point guard position that proved as foreign as it seemed initially, to the generally high expectations coming off a good rookie campaign, the San Antonio Spurs forward has struggled. But on Monday vs. the Phoenix Suns, Sochan may have put together the best game of his young NBA career.
“It might be,” the 20-year-old answered when asked that very question.
“Good to have a win [with] the season we have had. So, against a team like that, we ended with three wins and one loss against them. So, I think that shows a lot and just feels good to get a good team win and have good energy around the locker room.”
Sochan scored 26 points, including a late go-ahead three, grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds, and harassed Kevin Durant just enough in the 104-102 upset.
Jeremy Sochan hits the eventual game-winner
With just over 30 seconds remaining and his team down by a point, Sochan took advantage of space and launched a shot from beyond the right-wing arc.
“I was confident. Even at the start, I was asking for the ball. I had my hands up.”
It was the only trey Sochan made the entire night. He was 0/6 from that distance before what proved the game-winner.
“I feel like the couple of last games, the ball hasn't been going in from the three-point line, but no matter what, I believe in myself. There's days where it's tough but I've been working so hard on my shot and even in-season I've been working on it. I'm going to shoot every shot like I can and believe in myself.”
Chosen as a “Rising Star” in last year's All-Star weekend event, Sochan made it as a substitute this year. For the season, he's averaging 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3,4 assists per game.
Sochan's defense on Kevin Durant
Suns superstar Kevin Durant scored 29 points on 12/17 shooting, including 4/6 from three-point range. While that hardly qualifies as a bad game, Sochan bothered the two-time Finals MVP enough down the stretch. In recording eight rebounds and six assists, Durant also turned it over three times.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich knows Durant well from the Summer Olympic games played in 2021 when the 14-time NBA All-Star led the Popovich-coached Team USA to Gold.
“Kevin is such a difficult matchup for everybody. He's one of the greatest ever, and Jeremy never stopped working his butt off. He's very physical and did everything he could to guard a great player. He deserves a lot of credit. He also hit the boards for us. He got about I think 16, 17 boards tonight. He was he was very special,” Gregg Popovich said.
Zach Collins started at center for the Spurs on Monday in the absence of Victor Wembanyama.
“Jeremy, on both ends of the ball, was great. From the jump, you could tell he was locked in, forced a couple turnovers. A lot of mid-range jumpers that Kevin had last game, were taken away because of Jeremy’s defense,” the 26-year-old veteran said.
“You got to tip your hat to him. He took on the challenge against arguably the greatest, most dynamic scorer ever and he did really well.”
It's the kind of overall performance the Spurs hope for consistently from the ninth overall pick of the 2022 draft.
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