The New York Knicks are preparing for their NBA Finals matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of the 1999 finals in which the Spurs beat the Knicks 4-1 in a lockout-shortened season.
A storyline emerging of late is pitting two former Spurs teammates and upcoming opponents against each other. Those would be Knicks forward Jeremy Sochan and Spurs franchise player Victor Wembayama.
Sochan spent two-and-a-half seasons with San Antonio before they waived him in February. Shortly after, Sochan found a new home in New York, signing a deal with the Knicks for the remainder of the season and staying with the team throughout their postseason run to the finals.
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Sochan played alongside Wembanyama, and in an interview with the New York Post, he offered his thoughts on how the Knicks can approach defending the Western Conference Finals MVP.
“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.
Sochan pointed to Wembanyama’s physical frame and height as a factor in that. He also outlined how opponents can try to exploit it over the course of a game.
“It’s natural, being that tall, he gets tired,” Sochan said. “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. And he’s gonna get tired and he’s gonna have to take some plays off, in my opinion.”
The 22-year-old Wembanyama enters the NBA Finals after a standout conference finals performance in which he averaged 27.3 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading San Antonio past reigning champion Oklahoma City in seven games.
Sochan is not a regular in New York’s rotation, but he said his current role includes sharing his knowledge about the Spurs’ tendencies after his time with the organization and ahead of the finals matchup.
However, despite outlining Wembanyama's potential weakness, Sochan made sure to speak highly of his former teammate. “That’s my brother,” Sochan said. “He’s a real one.”
Game 1 of the NBA Finals between New York and San Antonio is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
