Jeremy Sochan said he will hand the New York Knicks whatever edge he can muster against his former team — the San Antonio Spurs — and that he already has material to share. "Whether I’m playing or not, it’s important to feed all the information I have," Sochan said in a recent interview, adding plainly, "And I think I know quite a lot."
Sochan’s offer matters because he spent 3.5 years inside the Spurs program before San Antonio waived him in February; New York picked him up two days later. The 23-year-old, the first top-10 pick in the post-Tim Duncan era, now arrives in the Finals dressing room with recent, inside experience of the opponent New York will face starting Wednesday.
He described the kind of detail he can provide. "I’m watching their games now, I’m seeing the old plays we [ran], when they go up to certain people and at what times, it’s pretty obvious to see. It’s gonna be interesting," Sochan said, signaling that his value to the Knicks could extend beyond minutes on the floor.
That inside view is sharpened by personal ties. Sochan played alongside Victor Wembanyama after the Spurs selected the 7-footer No. 1 overall in the following draft class, and he spoke about both Wembanyama’s gifts and limits. "He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen, and he works on it all the time, but he gets tired," Sochan said. "It’s natural, being that tall, he gets tired."
Sochan did not frame his comments as betrayal; he framed them as advice for his current team. "With the team we have, I think it’s important to give him different looks and, not beat him up, but be very physical with him and make him run," he said. "And he’s gonna get tired and he’s gonna have to take some plays off, in my opinion." He also stressed the personal bond: "That’s my brother," Sochan said of Wembanyama, adding that their connection began when Sochan entered the league and helped the rookie adjust: "Me and him, I came into the league and then he got drafted, we just had a connection from the start, a natural one. On the court, off the court."
Context sharpens the stakes. Sochan split the season between the two clubs after a midseason waiver and pickup; players who change teams midseason can, in practice, be offered championship rings when both teams meet in the Finals, and the NBA has no formal rule dictating ring distribution. That technicality leaves an unusual dynamic: Sochan could be walking into a Finals where everything he knows about the Spurs has immediate tactical value to his new teammates — and where he could later be recognized by either franchise.
The friction is obvious. Sochan is wearing Knicks colors and publicly laying out how New York might attack his former squad. Coaches and players often keep scouting to staff and trusted teammates; Sochan broadcast his intent. How much impact that will have on a Finals series between two elite rosters is the open question. His observations about set plays and personnel tendencies are specific, but translating locker-room chatter into game-changing adjustments often depends on execution and how much the opposing staff can camouflage their patterns.
The first test comes fast: Game 1 is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday inside the Frost Bank Center and will be shown live on KSAT 12. Whether Sochan’s inside knowledge swings a tightly contested series will be answered on the court, beginning at tip-off — and it is the single practical unknown that now frames his most public remark: "Whether I’m playing or not, it’s important to feed all the information I have."
