Who's Spurs 'Weakest' Starting Lineup Member?

San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan has only played 56 games in his career. Does that make him the "weakest" player in the starting lineup?

Jeremy Brener | Jul 30, 2023

Who's Spurs 'Weakest' Starting Lineup Member? /

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are still trying to figure things out even with Victor Wembanyama in the fold.

Wembanyama feels like a strong piece to build a foundation with, but outside of him, there's no true guarantee that anyone else on the roster will be on the team when the Spurs are good again.

Among the starters, Bleacher Report suggests that the "weakest" member of the first five is second-year player Jeremy Sochan.

"Even though he appears to have the potential to be a solid B to B-plus in plenty of areas of the game, he's clearly not as far along as Jones as a playmaker, and Wembanyama's impact on defense could be massive as early as Game 1," Bleacher Report writes.

This isn't necessarily a knock against Sochan, but rather a compliment to the other starters with either more experience, like Tre Jones, or more upside, like Wembanyama.

Sochan averaged 11 points and 5.3 rebounds per game during his rookie season with the Spurs and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team for his efforts.

Defensively, he also proved to be effective. From day one, Sochan made clear how important it was to play defense and be good at it, stating that he "prided himself" on it after just one preseason game. It isn't just talk, however. Last season, the rookie averaged 0.4 blocks and 0.8 steals per game — in just 56 contests — and proved himself as a true two-way player.

Sochan is still very young with a lot of development left to accomplish. If he can continue along the same trajectory, the term "weakest" won't be used to describe him again.

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Published Jul 30, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.