Jeremy Sochan betting on himself to get back to NBA

In a matter of months, Jeremy Sochan has gone from playing for the 2026 NBA champions to starting over in the G League.

The new Texas Legends forward went from sharing the court with teammates San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson — two of the NBA’s biggest stars — to playing alongside prospects hoping to make it to the league at all.

There are many differences on and off the court between the blessing of being in the NBA and fighting to be noticed in the G League. Either way, Sochan maintains he will respect “the Basketball Gods.” The 23-year-old plans to play with his usual level of intensity when the G League season begins this weekend.

“I’m always going to play hard, 100 percent,” Sochan told Andscape. “And I’ll always remember this — it’s Pop’s [former Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich’s] saying: ‘Respect the Basketball Gods.’ Of course the G League isn’t the NBA. Even now [before the season], I can see that with the things outside of basketball, outside of the court.

“But at the same time, it’s still something that I love and I’ve been doing since I was a kid. So, if I cheated myself, that isn’t right and it isn’t the way. I will always respect the Basketball Gods. And it doesn’t matter where I’m at. I’m going to still play hard.”

Sochan averaged 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in 228 NBA regular-season games over the past four seasons, primarily with the San Antonio Spurs. After being waived in February, he signed with the New York Knicks and was a seldom-used member of the 2026 NBA champions.

The Portland Trail Blazers signed him in August, but then waived him the day after the preseason ended. Now, Sochan is starting from scratch as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 G League draft by the Texas Legends. The Legends are the affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks, who play the Spurs on Wednesday (9:30 p.m., ESPN).

The ninth pick in the 2022 NBA draft played in the Rising Stars Game in each of his first two seasons. Sochan averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 25.3 minutes per game in 212 games for the Spurs from 2022-26, earning 149 starts. He was the seventh-fastest player in Spurs franchise history to record 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds.

The 6-foot-8 forward played his best basketball in San Antonio under Popovich, the five-time NBA champion who retired in 2024 due to health concerns.

“I was at San Antonio for 3½ years, and it was looking like it was going to be a good run for me in white and gray,” Sochan said. “But I was really close to Pop. When he got ill, unfortunately, a lot of things changed for me. It is what it is. I can’t control that part. It was evident that things changed.”

Under new Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, Sochan fell out of the rotation last season, largely due to the rapid development of forward Carter Bryant in his rookie campaign. While both were standout defenders, Bryant offered more offensive upside.

Despite the drop in playing time, Johnson praised Sochan for remaining professional.

“Just happy for him that he has another opportunity to continue to grow and develop,” Johnson said of Sochan last week. “In this league, it’s about continuing to get better and continuing to find your spots to grow in. [I’m] just glad that he’s with a great organization. Obviously taking him at that [No. 1] spot means that they are heavily invested in him.”

The Spurs kept Sochan through the Feb. 5 trade deadline in hopes of a deal, but nothing came to fruition. San Antonio waived him Feb. 11; he had averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in 28 games. Being waived for the first time in his NBA career was “surprising” and “hurt” Sochan, he said, especially because he first learned of the possibility from an undisclosed teammate.

“I thought I was going to be there for the rest of the season at least,” Sochan said of San Antonio. “And a few days after the trade deadline, it’s funny. I don’t want to be messy or anything, but I found out from one of my teammates that they wanted to waive me, and it definitely hit me in a way. But again, I kind of had the mentality of, ‘It is what it is.’

“I heard it was pretty possible from someone else, and then officially found out through my agent. So, that was definitely new to me. But again, it is what it is and I can’t change what happened in the past. And I kind of just had to push from there.”

Sochan clared waivers and signed with the Knicks on Feb. 13, joining the team for the remainder of last season. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sochan chose New York after receiving interest from 10 suitors. Sochan averaged 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 16 games last season with the Knicks.

“Signing with New York was one of my biggest blessings,” Sochan said.

Ironically, Sochan and the Knicks faced his former team, the Spurs, in the 2026 NBA Finals.

Before the Finals, Sochan said he knew “quite a lot” about the Spurs. “Whether I’m playing or not, it’s important to feed all the information I have,” he said.

He also had an appreciation for the Spurs making it to the Finals after being part of a franchise that didn’t make the postseason from 2019-25. The Knicks ultimately won their first NBA championship since 1973, with Sochan playing three minutes in Game 2, three minutes in Game 4 and the final eight seconds of the clinching Game 5 win in San Antonio.

“It was kind of a full-circle moment in a way,” Sochan said. “With the Spurs, the first couple years was a lot of losing, growing. And being in a playoff moment and the Finals against a team that I started with was a crazy feeling. I couldn’t describe the emotions. It was crazy. The last game I played the last [eight] seconds. It was definitely a crazy feeling.”

The Knicks’ championship parade in New York City also felt surreal for Sochan.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented “Keys to the City” to every Knicks player, coach and front office leadership member after a ticker-tape parade. Mamdani and the New York City Department of Transportation also had blue-and-orange temporary commemorative street signs featuring each player’s name and jersey number installed at intersections along Sixth and Seventh Avenues matching their respective numbers. Sochan, who wore No. 20, had a temporary street sign at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and West 20th St. in Manhattan.

“The parade was insane,” Sochan said. “Everyone was up for it. Just to see everyone that came to that, you were driving and seeing people hanging off skyscrapers celebrating, screaming our names. The joy we saw during the parade and in the city during that run is insane, unbelievable. It was beautiful to see how many people were looking forward to that and were dreaming about it to happen. …

“The fans were viewing us — whether you were the No. 1 person or the 15th guy on the roster — as someone who won something special in New York. It’s something that everyone had been fighting for. It’s a blessing.”

Sochan said the Knicks had interest in him as a training camp invitee who could compete for a roster spot this season. He also drew interest from the Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers before ultimately signing a non-guaranteed contract with Portland on Aug. 2.

Sochan appeared in four preseason games for the Trail Blazers before he was waived on Oct. 17, the day after preseason ended.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you that I saw it coming,” Sochan said. “The way the last couple years have gone, I can understand why it’s happened, and I can see the reasoning. It’s funny because when you look at NBA teams and what the rosters look like, it’s a mixture of players, and I definitely believe that I belong on an NBA roster.”

Suddenly, Sochan was potentially available to be in New York City on Oct. 20, when the Knicks raised their NBA title banner and the players received their championship rings. Former Knicks center Ariel Hukporti did receive his ring and took part in the ceremony while visiting as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks’ opponent that night.

Sochan, though, wanted to maintain his availability for any potential roster moves, so he watched the Knicks’ celebration live on TV and viewed social media clips.

“It was definitely pretty cool to see my ex-teammates,” Sochan said. “The best part for me was when I saw Ariel get [his ring]. He went out [injured] in preseason with his Achilles [tear]. But for him to be there, it was pretty cool to see that. …

“I didn’t really like when it was happening. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to be doing. So, I was kind of thinking I’d rather just be ready to go wherever I need to go, in a way. So no, definitely, of course, if I could have been there it would be really cool to be there.”

The Knicks have been in touch with Sochan’s team and plan on honoring him at a home game at the appropriate time, hopefully with him amid an NBA return, a source told Andscape.

Sochan said he an opportunity to sign with teams in Europe and Australia but declined in hopes of returning to the NBA. Being just 23 also made it easier to bet on himself.

He hopes to eventually be promoted to the Dallas Mavericks, where he has a longtime relationship with new general manager Mike Schmitz, or be acquired by another NBA team.

“I will always be pretty prideful about my journey, because it’s very unique,” Sochan said. “I’m in this situation now. It kind of felt weird being a little unemployed, but it is what it is. And I’m going to work, stay ready and do everything I can to prove myself. And most importantly, the people around me know that I’m still hungry. I’m still the same guy.”