Spurs' Jeremy Sochan Suffers Fractured Thumb, Will Undergo Surgery on Injury

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan suffered a fractured left thumb against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, and he is scheduled for surgery this week, per a team announcement.

The 21-year-old Sochan, who is in his third NBA season, has averaged 15.4 points on 51.2 percent shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 rebounds over seven starts this season. The former Baylor star joined the Spurs after they selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft.

It's a brutal blow for the Spurs and Sochan, who was enjoying a breakout season. His scoring efficiency was well up from his previous two seasons, and he had enjoyed massive improvement on the defensive end as well, with a career-high 109 defensive rating, per Basketball-Reference.

In Sochan's six full games, the Spurs looked much-improved from last year, going 3-3 after a 22-60 mark the year prior. San Antonio also got off to a 40-14 lead after one quarter against the Clips, but it was clear the loss of Sochan was too tough a blow to overcome. L.A. eventually stormed back and won 113-104.

Hopefully Sochan is able to return to full health as soon as possible and continue his promising season. In the meantime, rookie Stephon Castle should be featured more.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 draft and national champion with UConn took Sochan's place in the starting five at the beginning of the second half. For the season, he's averaged 6.0 points on 31.3 percent shooting and 2.6 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game.

On the bright side, the Spurs should be welcoming back Devin Vassell, who has missed the beginning of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot. Head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters on Oct. 8 that he expected Vassell back sometime during the first week of November.