Spurs’ Barnes and Waters III appreciate the scrappy moments from Jeremy Sochan and teammates.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs rarely get into major altercations on the court.
Sure, there might be a smattering of shoving matches, but even this rarely escalates into a bench-clearing ruckus or constant player ejections when the Spurs are on the hardwood.
But occasionally, as in all competitive professional sports, emotions run high.
For the Spurs, whenever there is extracurricular activity, you might guess Jeremy Sochan is involved, and your guess might be correct.
In the Nov. 2 Spurs’ home win over Memphis, Sochan and Grizzlies’ big man, 7’3″, 300-pound Zach Edey, were battling for the ball when they dropped to the floor, and things were seemingly about to explode.
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and the pair separated, but Sochan’s grit and tenacity fuel the Spurs.
“I think it’s obviously easy to see the highlight plays and the offensive side of things, the prettier side, but the gritty part of the plays that Jeremy made in that example, that’s what carries our team,” Harrison Barnes said.
It’s not uncommon for Sochan to be a pest on the court with the opposition. A team needs that type of gritty player when it is time to roll up the sleeves.
In the Spurs’ Nov. 14 home game against the Warriors, Victor Wembanyama and Draymond Green had words following the Spurs’ big man’s dunk.
The situation seemed to be escalating between Wembanyama and Green, but it was Sochan who, without hesitation, ran into the scrum and faced Green to defend Wemby.
That side of the game, as Barnes noted, isn’t pretty, but it is necessary at times when winning is the primary goal.
However, it doesn’t have to be a Spur being separated from another player, nor does it have to be tempers flaring, far from it.
From Keldon Johnson diving for loose balls to Luke Kornet sacrificing his body to draw charges, the toughness the team has shown on the floor this season reflects its commitment to doing whatever it takes to win.
“I think that anytime you see guys putting their body on the line, Jeremy hits the deck, Keldon (Johnson) hits the deck, Luke (Kornet), I don’t know how many times Luke was hit in the face or was on the ground for something; that’s the commitment that guys are making towards winning.”
Those types of gritty plays can even lift the Spurs out of a sluggish spell and energize the team.
With the Spurs coming off a long four-game road trip before their recent game against Memphis, the team started slowly.
But when Sochan battled with Edey, it sparked the rest of the squad.
“I think coming off a long road trip, we started off the game (versus Memphis) a little sluggish, and just like most teams in the NBA, it’s going to happen. It’s natural, it’s human nature,” said Spurs guard Lindy Waters III. “But that second unit with Jeremy trying to take Edey out of the game, I think he picked up his third or fourth foul on that play. So that was big time.”
Said Waters III: “It does ripple effect energy, and as coach Mitch (Johnson) talks about it all the time, we have to have that body language, energy reactions to be able to propel us through the entire 48-minute game.”
So far this season, no Spur has missed a game due to a suspension for fighting, nor has been ejected from a game for the same reason.
As for Sochan, he has been ejected from a game only twice in his career, both in 2025 against the Thunder and Lakers. Not bad despite his reputation as an agitator.
Yes, dunks, alley-oops, crossover dribbles to the rim and three-pointers may get the highlight machine going, but sometimes the feisty, crashing-to-the-court, bumps-and-bruises moments of the season make the difference in wins and losses for the Spurs.
“That was big time of him,” said Waters III of Sochan’s physicality with Edey. “Big props to Jeremy.”