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While most wouldn't call the San Antonio Spurs' 2024-2025 season a successful one, it wasn't an awful year either. Season-ending injuries to Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox amid Gregg Popovich's absence for virtually the entire year qualified the expectations. Instead, team forward, Jeremy Sochan described it another way.
“I think it was a tough year. You can't, you know,” Sochan then paused, as if to prevent himself from saying what may be obvious to others.
Perhaps Sochan was going to add that one couldn't truly say it was a good year because of the losing record. Or maybe, he was simply going to reiterate that there is no other way to describe the season other than “tough.”
“It's the Pop situation, injuries, even travel. It feels like this season was – out of the 3 years I've been here – this season felt like we weren't home at all,” Sochan elaborated.
The ninth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft proceeded to specify the other elements that made his squad's previous six months so challenging.
“The Paris trip was a week long. Christmas, we were in New York for a week. We were in LA during the wildfires. So, it wasn't the easiest situation that we were put in. But I think you learn from those situations and grow as a team and as individuals. I think we're going to benefit from all of it,” Sochan concluded in detailing circumstances.
Jeremy Sochan talks Spurs improvements
In terms of how the Spurs handled a unique season, Sochan used the word “strides.”
“Consistency is something we're always going to push for and want more of, but I think this year we were kind of figuring it out, finding it, and we had a bunch of different additions to the team,” Sochan said.
The Spurs brought in Fox via trade before the deadline. It came after a busy off-season that saw San Antonio sign Chris Paul, draft Stephon Castle, and acquire Harrison Barnes.
“Finding chemistry on both sides of the court,” Sochan continued. “But I think we've definitely done a lot of good stuff, even if you look from last year.”
The Spurs won 12 more games than when they finished 22-60 for a second straight season. Those records represented their third-worst in franchise history, just three losses from the worst mark the team has ever seen. But Sochan believes his squad turned a corner this season.
“We had some really good games as a team,” the former Baylor Bear revealed.
Until Wembanyama's blood clot diagnosis in his right shoulder in February, the Silver and Black hovered right around the .500 mark. Even after Wemby, then Fox, a month later, were shut down for the year, the Spurs put up some good performances.
“It's super exciting. I think everyone's super motivated and ready to keep growing and keep meshing as a team and as an identity in the culture,” Sochan said.
At right around 11.5 points and six rebounds per game through his first three seasons, the versatile Sochan figures to play a role in the team's future. He's looking forward to what's ahead for the Spurs.
“Super excited.”
