One NBA player enters the 2026 NBA Finals in the rare position of having a championship path no matter which team wins.
The situation is unusual because the matchup connects two different chapters of the same season. One team represents where the year began, while the other is where it could end with a title.
That is what makes this a strange subplot before Game 1 between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks.
Jeremy Sochan is positioned for NBA title either way in San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks Finals
Sochan began the 2025-26 season with the Spurs, appearing in 28 games for San Antonio before the franchise moved on from him in February.
The Knicks then signed him on February 13, adding a 22-year-old forward with size, defensive versatility and experience playing next to Victor Wembanyama.
That midseason switch is what makes the Finals twist so unusual. If New York beats San Antonio, Sochan wins as a member of the Knicks roster.
If the Spurs win, Sochan would still be in line to receive a ring because he spent part of the championship season with San Antonio before joining the opponent they now face.
Teams decide how to distribute rings to former players, but it would be hard to ignore Sochan’s role after he spent meaningful time with the Spurs earlier in the season.
Jeremy Sochan’s San Antonio Spurs past gives New York Knicks extra Finals wrinkle
The matchup also makes Sochan useful beyond the ring subplot because he knows the Spurs from the inside.
San Antonio is built around Wembanyama, and Sochan spent years in that system before ending up with New York. That gives the Knicks someone who understands the habits, coverages and rhythm of the team they are trying to beat.
The Finals begin with the Spurs and Knicks renewing a matchup that already carries history, but Sochan adds a modern twist. He is not the star of the series, yet his path connects both locker rooms in a way no other player can match.
That is what makes his situation so rare. The championship will be won by either the team that drafted and developed him or the team that picked him up before the season’s biggest stage.
Sochan still wants the Knicks to finish the job, but from a ring perspective, he may already be the safest bet in the entire Finals.
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