Tempers flared between Los Angeles Lakers‘ Jarred Vanderbilt and San Antonio Spurs‘ Jeremy Sochan after Wednesday night’s game.
As shown in the video below, Vanderbilt poked Sochan in the face, prompting players from both teams to break up a potentially volatile situation. The incident nearly escalated when Spurs wing Julian Champagnie took issue with Vando getting handsy by pushing him away, which led to De’Aaron Fox playing peacemaker.
Jarred Vanderbilt Gets Called Out
After the game, Sochan told reporters that Vanderbilt wasn’t “emotionally stable” during their exchange and needed to work on his anger issues.
“I must’ve said something to him during the game, and maybe it wasn’t very nice,” Sochan said, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
“He must have taken it in the wrong way and told me to see him after the game. So, I did. And we just had a polite exchange. I was, I think, intact and very joyful and the other person wasn’t. Yeah, he just wasn’t emotionally stable in that moment. So, it’s something he has to work on. It’s just life.”
It’s worth noting that there’s a history of bad blood between the players. During a game in March 2025, Sochan and Vanderbilt were ejected after shoving each other when a foul was called on the latter while defending the Spurs player.
Jeremy Sochan Back in Rotation
Both Vanderbilt and Sochan have been in and out of the rotation for their respective teams. While Vanderbilt returned to the rotation in late December, Sochan played in just his second consecutive game on Wednesday after receiving four straight DNPs.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised Sochan for his competitive fire in a limited burst of 11 minutes during Wednesday’s contest.
“I thought he competed his butt off, did a great job offensively, shot the ones that came to him, and he was in rhythm, made them,” Johnson said of Sochan.
Sochan, the No. 9 overall pick in 2022, started 149 games for the Spurs during his first four seasons, and was viewed as a key core piece of the roster next to Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Co. However, he’s recently been mentioned in trade rumors and could be on his way out of San Antonio soon.
The Spurs forward isn’t too worried about his future.
“When I think about my whole life, I’ve been moving all over the place,” he said, via ESPN. “I left home at 15, and this is the first time I’ve been somewhere for more than a year since then. This is my home. I feel like I’ve put in a lot of blood and sweat here to this city.”
“I’m going to put all of that into wherever I am, and I’m here right now. So, I’m staying here and it’s out of my control. I feel like there’s waves. It’s up and down. There’s days where it’s sunny and then days where it’s dark. I think my career has been like that.”
The Spurs (26-11) consolidated the second seed with their 107-91 win over the Lakers (23-12) on Wednesday.
‘Unstable’ Lakers Player Called Out by Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan After Postgame Exchange