San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan wasn’t expecting much when he arrived at a fan event in Poland last month.
The No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Sochan earned All-Rookie Second Team honors last season. He made the trip as part of the 2023 Basketball Without Borders (BWB) European camp held at the WKK Sport Center in Wrocław, Poland.
He was born in Oklahoma but has deep ties to Poland dating back to his grandfather, who was the president of the Warsaw Regional Basketball Association. Sochan has played for the Polish youth national team and is recruiting Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski to join him on the senior national team, per HoopsHype.
The forward, who recently spoke with For The Win, said he expected to see maybe a couple hundred people. But what he saw instead was an instant reflection of the way that the game has grown overseas even over the course of just the past few years.
jeremy sochan has many fans pic.twitter.com/6MInDusd5z
— maddy 👽 (@lilmaddens7) August 26, 2023
“Over 2,000 people showed out. It was crazy,” Sochan said. “It was more than just basketball. It’s a culture change just showing positivity and energy. I think people are receiving it well and they love it.”
While this was a wonderful moment for Sochan, it only represents a small portion of how he has spent his summer. Spurs assistant coach Mitch Johnson recently praised the work ethic Sochan has shown so far this offseason.
Here is more from our conversation with the 20-year-old Spurs forward about teammate Victor Wembanyama, playing for Gregg Popovich and offseason improvements.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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