Jeremy Sochan does not have to pick a side in the NBA Finals. He just has to wait for the ring fitting.
Because of an unusual quirk in his 2025-26 season, Sochan is the only player in the league guaranteed to walk away with a 2026 championship ring regardless of who wins. He played 28 games for the San Antonio Spurs before they waived him on February 11. Two days later, the New York Knicks scooped him up. He has played 16 regular-season games for New York since.
Now the Spurs and the Knicks are playing each other for the title.
NBA teams typically award championship rings to every player who suited up in the regular season for that franchise. So unless something weird happens, both organizations are going to have Sochan’s name on a ring this June. That is not the way anyone draws up a championship run, but it is the kind of fluke that only happens once in a generation.
The 22-year-old Polish forward was the No. 9 overall pick by San Antonio back in 2022, but he never quite fit into the Spurs’ long-term plans alongside Victor Wembanyama. The mutual decision to part ways looked like a fresh start for both sides. Sochan got the change of scenery he wanted. The Spurs cleared a roster spot and salary.
Nobody saw this Finals matchup coming when the move was made in February.
For Sochan, this is a wild full-circle moment. He spent his entire pro career in San Antonio before getting his first taste of meaningful playoff basketball as a Knick. He has not been a major piece in New York’s playoff rotation, but he has been around the team and seen the run firsthand. Now his old teammates are the ones standing between his current team and a championship.
The basketball internet has been having fun with this one all week. Sochan is the closest thing the NBA has to a no-lose bet right now. The kid is going home with hardware no matter which jersey he is technically wearing on the bench in June.
Of course, there is one awkward question hanging over all of this. Which ring does Sochan actually want? He has barely played for the Knicks. His Spurs teammates were the ones who drafted him and developed him. There is no rule that says he has to root for either side publicly, and Sochan has been smart enough to stay quiet on the subject.
But you would have to think his heart is still in San Antonio.
The Knicks won the trade in the sense that they got a young, talented forward for almost nothing. The Spurs won the long game in the sense that they freed up resources to build around Wemby. And Sochan? He just won the lottery without buying a ticket.
Game 1 is Wednesday night in San Antonio. Whichever way it ends, Sochan is going to need a bigger hand to display all his hardware.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
