There is no telling how much longer LeBron James will play, but it’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers star is nearing the end of his career. Despite still being one of the best players in the league, James has been noncommittal about his future plans as he takes some time to think about his next steps.
Regardless, the Lakers are focused on getting back into championship contention with Luka Doncic ushering in a new era for the purple and gold.
The hope is that James will run it back at least one more season as he can still play meaningful basketball despite being 40 years of age. With his time in the NBA winding down, opponents are cherishing matchups against James and San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan falls under that category, via Lakers reporter Nicole Ganglani:
“Everyone. Every game, I think I look forward to playing and competing,” Sochan said of which players he looks forward to going up against the most. “Some of the players I grew up watching, some players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook. I was a big fan of OKC. I think those are exciting matchups. And of course playing against All-Stars, LeBron, of course. One of the GOATS, I think he’s always an exciting matchup. I can’t pick one specific player, I think it’s everyone in the league.”
Parity is arguably at an all-time high, especially in the Western Conference with a surplus of competitive teams. San Antonio is one of them with a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs had entertaining matchups against the Lakers during the 2024-25 season.
With a lot up-and-coming talent in the league, the older generation like James definitely have targets on their backs going into every game. Sochan possesses that competitive mentality and clearly is not afraid of LeBron, although the Lakers have gotten the better of the Spurs the last few years.
With the Spurs bringing in De’Aaron Fox and a healthy Wembanyama though, their in-season series against L.A. could carry extra weight in 2025-26. Sochan and San Antonio will want to send a message and it does not get any bigger than beating Doncic and James.
Jeremy Sochan and LeBron James have past history
Despite Jeremy Sochan naming greats in today’s greats and mentioning LeBron James as one of his favorite matchups, those two have had differences in the past. The Lakers star often gets called out for embellishing contact from defenders and Sochan was not afraid to do so during the 2023 playoffs.
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