The NBA Finals doesn’t officially tip off until Wednesday night, but one player already can be fitted for a ring no matter which side wins.
New York Knicks forward Jeremy Sochan can make the claim of being an NBA champion for the 2025-26 season even if his team falls to the San Antonio Spurs in this highly anticipated series.
That’s because he began this season playing for the Spurs, appearing in 28 games for the team that drafted him with the ninth-overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.
But after spending his first three full seasons with the Western Conference finalist, Sochan and the Spurs mutually agreed to part ways in February after seeing his minutes cut in half and the power forward was waived.
Two days later, he signed with the Knicks and made his debut on Feb. 19 against the Pistons.
Has this sort of thing happened before?
There have been several cases of players being put in this sort of “no-lose” situation.
Anderson Varejao turned down a championship ring from the Cavaliers – with whom he started the 2015-16 season with – after his Golden State Warriors lost the Finals to Cleveland that year.
During the 2025 World Series, there were two players who were destined to receive a ring no matter who came out on top between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers – and they weren’t even competing.
Buddy Kennedy and Jose Urena both appeared in games for each team during the 2025 season, though neither was on one of the MLB rosters once the playoffs rolled around.
Is Jeremy Sochan good?
Sochan has not been much more than a role player for New York since joining the team. He averaged just 2.8 points per game in the regular season while playing an average of 6.9 minutes per game.
In the playoffs, he has appeared in just five games, averaging 4.6 minutes per appearance and scoring 4.0 points.
Sochan, who was born in Oklahoma but represents Poland on the international stage, had shown some promise during his first three seasons in the NBA. He averaged at least 11 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game and was voted to the 2022-23 all-rookie team.