Inside The Spurs

'It Was My Main Sport': Spurs' Jeremy Sochan 'Had to Pick' Between Basketball & Soccer

Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but in another reality, he could have been a soccer player instead.

Matt Guzman

'It Was My Main Sport': Spurs' Jeremy Sochan 'Had to Pick' Between Basketball & Soccer
'It Was My Main Sport': Spurs' Jeremy Sochan 'Had to Pick' Between Basketball & Soccer /
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When the San Antonio Spurs selected Polish forward Jeremy Sochan with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, they expected to add a hard-working, charismatic young talent to their roster. 

Luckily for the Spurs, they got all of that and more, as Sochan went above and beyond during his rookie season on both sides of the ball. Had he not been injured, that impact would have likely been even greater, but he is still a rookie. 

Next season, Sochan has his sights set on becoming an even better leader and teammate for San Antonio, which shouldn't be hard given how natural he is in interviews or when talking to other NBA players. 

Natural is the key word for the 20-year-old. Sochan's eccentric personality is a big part of what makes him a fan favorite for Spurs fans, but he's natural on the court, too, and he is well aware of that. 

In fact, in another reality, Sochan might have been a soccer player, but feeling natural steered him towards basketball over his childhood sport.

"At one point, I just had to pick," Sochan said. "I kind of felt more natural with a basketball, so I had to pick it." 

"Had to" might be a strong word choice considering how dedicated Sochan is to the NBA now, but given that soccer was the sport he grew up on, it makes sense. 

"I played a bunch of football [as a kid]," Sochan explained. "I mainly played football. I was a goalkeeper and then I played a little bit of midfield until maybe 13, when I had to pick [between that] and basketball, but football was my main sport."

So, when the decision came, Sochan leaned towards the sport he felt more natural at.

That landed him at Baylor, and later, San Antonio, where he's now a potential candidate for Defensive Player of the Year alongside Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama. And if he continues to follow his own "natural" path, he could be even more than that for San Antonio in the coming years.

But despite that initial decision between soccer and basketball being far behind him, the idea of Sochan in a soccer jersey is an interesting — how good could he have been taking that route? We may never know, but Sochan certainly has an idea. 

"I feel like if I stuck with [soccer], I'd still be good," Sochan said.  

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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