SAN ANTONIO — Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan downplayed the severity of the incident after Wednesday's game, which involved Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Vanderbilt you poke him in the face after calling San Antonio victory with a score of 107-91 at the Frost Bank Center.
“I must have said something to him during the game and it probably wasn’t very nice,” Sochan said. “He must have taken it the wrong way and told me to meet him after the game. So I did. And we just had a polite exchange. I was, I think, unharmed and very happy, and the other person wasn't. Yeah, he just wasn't emotionally stable at that point. So that's something he needs to work on. It's just life.”
As the teams left the court after the game, the forwards briefly exchanged words with the Spurs defenseman. De'Aaron Fox step between them to de-escalate the situation. Fox grabbed Vanderbilt to pull him away, but the Lakers forward quickly poked Socan in the face with his left index finger.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie immediately pushed Vanderbilt as Fox remained between the players, trying to keep them apart. Lakers Luka Doncic quickly entered with Jackson Hayes to help Fox calm the situation while Sochan and Vanderbilt continued to trade verbal barbs.
Vanderbilt did not speak to reporters in the Lakers' locker room after the game.
As Sochan discussed Champagne coming to the rescue, the latter jokingly pounded his chest in solidarity from his locker just a few feet away as he ate his post-game meal.
“My guy,” Champagne said.
On the floor, Socan scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting and had one assist in 11 minutes in the Spurs' win, courtesy of Keldon Johnson27 points from the bench. The performance marked Johnson's fourth game this season with 25 or more points. Miami Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr.. for most of these games off the bench.
Sochan was playing in just his second straight contest after getting a DNP in each of San Antonio's previous four games. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes with a steal.
“I thought he fought hard, did a great job offensively, shot the guys that came his way and he was in rhythm, scoring them,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Socan.
The ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Socan has a DNP in eight games this season after starting 149 games over four seasons with the Spurs. As the NBA trade deadline approaches, Sochan admitted he's trying to avoid thinking about a potential future that might not exist in San Antonio.
“When I think about my whole life, I move around everywhere. I left home at 15 and this is the first time I've been somewhere for more than a year since then. This is my home. I feel like I've put a lot of blood and sweat into this city,” he said. “I'm going to put it all into where I am and I'm here right now. So I'm staying here and it's out of my control. I feel like there are waves. It's up and down. There are days when it's sunny and there are days when it's dark. I think my career has been like that. I feel like I've put a lot of effort into doing the right thing and sometimes things happen that you can't control. Some of them are positive, some of them are negative. It was dark, but what can I do? I I can't control it. The most important thing is to stay in the present, and that's what I do.”
