Considered an elite defender by his Hall of Fame head coach, Jeremy Sochan looks to get even better.

While San Antonio Spurs super rookie Victor Wembanyama is a contender for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, there’s no doubt about who ranks as the team’s best perimeter defender. Jeremy Sochan always guarded the opponent’s best offensive threat from the wing. He often guarded more stout players down on the block. Routinely, he did both in the same game.

“He’s really a prime defender. He can guard one through four and enjoys it, which is great,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Sochan.

“I don’t have to convince him to enjoy it,” the longest tenured coach in the NBA added while also using the word “special” to describe his small forward.

Jeremy Sochan looks forward to Spurs’ offseason

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Like teammate Devin Vassell, Sochan missed the team’s final eight games of the season. The former Baylor Bear went on the Spurs injury report with what the team called a left ankle impingement. He has since undergone successful arthroscopic surgery.

“I’m feeling good. Mindset is in the right place,” the Spurs fourth leading scorer said. “Surgery went well, smoothly. So now, it’s just working to get stronger and better. It’s been good.”

With an eye on the Summer Games, Sochan hopes that already having gone through surgery will increase the chance he’ll have a “normal” off-season.

“That’s the plan. I think that’s one of the reasons we decided to get the surgery as soon as possible because it takes six to eight weeks to get back in shape to the top level. We did that in mind of hopefully playing for Poland. Being healthy for that and playing in the Olympics.”

As the team’s most versatile defender–as well as its best outside the paint–the ninth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft strives to better that part of his game.

“I think one thing that I want to put pride into is defense but also consistency,” Sochan continued with a response that then zoomed out to the bigger picture.

“I think just overall, leveling up my game, whether it’s the physical standpoint, conditioning, being able to play for a long time, to strength, speed. And then on the court, of course, everything. I need to still improve my shoot. It’s a work in progress. I think there’s things I did this season that are positive with the shot. Just working on that. Everything: ball handling, reading the game better. Just everything.”

Jeremy Sochan averaged 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in being chosen to play in the NBA’s Rising Stars Game for a second straight season. It was a year that saw him at point guard to start in what Popovich called an “experiment.” Though it didn’t end there, neither did Sochan’s perspective.

“Myself, just resilience and just having a growth mindset into all. I feel like my role this year was whatever I was asked to do, just do it. I learned a lot from it, positives, negatives. At the end of the day, it’s a growth. As the season went along, me individually but also as a team, that was what you could see happen was growth. I think we’re in an exciting time.”