By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-11-18 15:44:52
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋杰里米·索汉 (10号) 在2025年11月16日，周日，于圣安东尼奥举行的一场NBA比赛上半场中，试图突破萨克拉门托国王队后卫拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克 (18号) 的防守。索汉契合马刺的球队文化，但在文班亚马因小腿受伤缺阵期间，正是这位前锋证明自己能融入球队长期计划的绝佳机会。
在为马刺市中心新球馆铺平道路的选举周，杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 做了个小调查。当时有几位记者正围在他的更衣柜旁，他想知道他们是否投了票。
当一位记者问他是否在圣安东尼奥投了票时，这位出生于俄克拉荷马州、22岁、拥有一口地道英式口音的波兰公民咧嘴一笑。
“当然，”他说，“我是德州人。”
如果一切如索汉所愿，他将能够在很长一段时间内继续保持这个身份。他喜欢这里，并且与马刺队友们（包括球队的当家超巨）在场下关系极佳。今年夏天，他带着斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 一起去了西班牙，还和维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 踢了一场野球。
从文化、个性和球队氛围来看，索汉完美融入。但要赢得第二份职业合同，光有这些还远远不够，也正因如此，在接下来的两到三周内，他和队中任何一位球员一样，都有许多东西需要证明。
如果他想长久地留在这座城市，现在不正是向马刺展示他们也该有同样想法的绝佳时机吗？
这么说或许不完全公平，因为没人能替代文班亚马，而且在球队对这位超级巨星的左小腿拉伤采取保守态度期间，马刺也打不出最佳水准的篮球。
但在这样的时刻，球队确实需要那个四年前成为马刺队史上近25年来顺位最高新秀的球员站出来，注入一针强心剂。
倒不是说他已经让球队后悔当初的选择。在2022届选秀的前十顺位中，他远非最大的“水货”——约翰尼·戴维斯 (Johnny Davis) 已经淡出联盟，而杰登·艾维 (Jaden Ivey) 也并未完全兑现天赋——但他同样也逊色于几位顺位在他之后的球员，包括杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams)、塔里·伊森 (Tari Eason) 和克里斯蒂安·布劳恩 (Christian Braun)。
因此，当马刺上个月放弃提前续约索汉时，外界并不感到意外。目前也仍不清楚，在他们试图建立的王朝中，他是否能扮演一角。证明本赛季50%的三分命中率并非昙花一现，将有助于他为自己正名。同时，向教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 展示自己的可靠性，也并非坏事。
关于后一点，索汉尚未完全做到。尽管米奇·约翰逊坚称，上周对阵芝加哥的10分钟、对阵金州勇士的6分钟以及另一场再战勇士的13分钟出场时间“并非是对他这位四年级前锋的指责”，但这些数字依然引人注目。很明显，当马刺全员健康时，索汉并不在球队阵容深度表的前八或前九人之列。
然而，问题在于，他们现在并非全员健康。
文班亚马将在感恩节后的某个时间点接受复查，但若他在12月的第二周前复出，将是一件令人意外的事。新秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 已经脱掉了保护靴，但他可能还需要数周时间才能从自己的小腿伤势中恢复。而卡斯尔则因左髋屈肌酸痛，预计将缺席周二对阵孟菲斯灰熊的比赛。
这是否意味着马刺将上演“索汉秀”？显然不会。他们阵中仍有一位全明星级别的控球后卫德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)，并且卡斯尔可能在本周末前回归，而像卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet)、德文·瓦塞尔和凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 这样的球员，也理应准备好在未来几周分担文班亚马缺阵所带来的重担。
但对于明年夏天将成为受限制自由球员的索汉来说，这确实是一个真正的机会。他不再像那场初衷良好却惨淡收场的控卫实验中那样，被迫打着不熟悉的位置；也不再像去年二月文班亚马遭遇血栓，球队没有替补大个子来消化中锋出场时间时那样。
这一次，科内特和凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk) 可以承担大部分中锋时间。可能会有某些时段，马刺会打小个阵容，让索汉客串五号位，但理论上，这只会在约翰逊教练认为能带来优势时才会发生。在大多数时间里，索汉被要求做的将是疯狂防守、拼抢篮板，并在出现大空位时命中投篮。
如果他能证明在文班亚马缺阵时自己能做到这些呢？或许这种表现能够延续到那位大个子回归之后。
但如果未来几周过去，球队的决策层仍然不确定索汉如何融入球队计划呢？
那么，说他的机会所剩无几可能有些言过其实。但他自己大概也不想再浪费更多了。
“我一直都是一名马刺球员，”索汉说，“而且我永远都会是。”
这是几周前，他在谈到为市中心新球馆投赞成票的那个晚上所说的话。
他很有可能，有朝一日会在那座新球馆里打球。
甚至，是以一个德州人的身份。
San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) blocks Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) from San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during a heated moment in the fourth quarter of an NBA Cup game at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Warriors 109-108.
Chicago Bulls forward Jalen Smith, left, rebounds a ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) prepares to knock the ball away from New Orleans Pelicans forward Micah Peavy (14) during the second half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. The Spurs beat the Pelicans 126-119.
San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) tries to save a ball at the rim above forward Keldon Johnson (3) during the second half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. The Spurs beat the Pelicans 126-119.
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) and forward Jeremy Sochan (10) defend Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the second half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. San Antonio beat Houston 121-110.
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：How Spurs' Jeremy Sochan can prove he belongs in long-term plans
How Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan can prove he belongs in long-term plans
San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) looks to get past Sacramento Kings’ guard Russell Westbrook (18) during the first half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. Sochan fits the culture of the Spurs, but with Wembanyama out with a calf injury, now is the perfect opportunity for the forward to prove he fits in the team’s long-term plans.
The week of the election that paved the way for a downtown Spurs arena, Jeremy Sochan took a poll. A couple of reporters were hanging around his locker, and he wanted to know if they’d voted.
When one asked if he’d been able to cast a ballot in San Antonio, the 22-year-old Oklahoma-born Polish citizen with the bangers-and-mash British accent grinned.
“Of course,” he said. “I’m a Texan.”
If Sochan has it his way, he’ll be able to keep identifying as such for a long time. He likes it here, and he has a great off-court relationship with his fellow Spurs, including the franchise superstar. Over the summer, he took Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell with him to Spain, and played some pickup soccer with Victor Wembanyama.
In terms of culture, personality and vibes, Sochan fits. But it takes more than that to secure a second pro contract, and that’s why he has as much to prove as anybody on the roster over the next two to three weeks.
If he wants to stay a San Antonian for the long haul, isn’t now a perfect time for him to show the Spurs why they should want the same?
Maybe that’s not entirely fair, because nobody can replace Wembanyama, and the Spurs are not going to play their best basketball while they play it safe with their superstar’s strained left calf.
But these are the times when they sure could use a lift from the guy who four summers ago became the Spurs’ highest draft pick in a quarter-century.
It’s not that he’s made the franchise regret that selection. In the Top 10 of the 2022 draft, he’s not even close to the biggest bust — Johnny Davis is out of the league, and Jaden Ivey hasn’t exactly panned out — but he also has underperformed a few guys taken after him, including Jalen Williams, Tari Eason and Christian Braun.
So it came as no surprise when the Spurs declined the chance to extend Sochan’s contract last month, and it’s still unclear whether he has a role in the dynasty they’re trying to build. Proving that his 50% 3-point shooting this season isn’t a seven-game mirage would help his case. Showing coach Mitch Johnson he can count on him wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
On that latter point, Sochan isn’t all the way there yet. Even though Mitch Johnson insisted “it was not an indictment” of his fourth-year forward that he was limited to 10 minutes against Chicago, six minutes against Golden State and then 13 minutes in another game against the Warriors last week, those numbers were notable. It’s clear that Sochan isn’t considered one of the top eight or nine guys on the depth chart when the Spurs are at full strength.
The thing is, though, they’re not now.
Wembanyama will be reevaluated sometime after Thanksgiving, but it would be a surprise to see him return before the second week of December. Rookie Dylan Harper is out of his walking boot, but he might be weeks away from coming back from his own calf issue. And Castle was set to miss Tuesday’s game against Memphis with left hip flexor soreness.
Does that mean the Spurs are about to become the Sochan show? Well, obviously not. They do still have an All-Star caliber point guard in De’Aaron Fox, and Castle might be back before the end of the week, and players like Luke Kornet, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson should be poised to pick up lots of the Wembanyama slack over the next few weeks.
But Sochan, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, has a real opportunity. He’s no longer playing out of position, like he was during the well-intentioned but ill-fated point-guard experiment, or like he was when Wembanyama had his blood clot last February and the Spurs had no backup big men available to soak up minutes at center.
This time, Kornet and Kelly Olynyk can take the bulk of those. There might be some stretches in which the Spurs go small and Sochan is playing the five-spot, but theoretically that only will happen when Johnson thinks that gives them advantage. For the most part, Sochan will be asked to defend like crazy and hit the boards and make a shot when he’s wide open.
If he proves he can do that when Wembanyama isn’t around? Maybe that will carry over to when the big man comes back.
But if the next few weeks go by, and the team’s brain trust still isn’t sure how Sochan fits into the plan?
Well, it might be overdramatic to say he’s running out of chances. But he probably doesn’t want to waste too many more of them.
“I’ve always been a Spur,” Sochan said, “and I always will.”
That was a couple of weeks ago, on the same night he talked about casting a vote in favor of a downtown arena.
Chances are, he’ll get to play in it someday.
Maybe even as a Texan.
By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News