Grizzlies’ Steven Adams says Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan pinched his nipple in attempt to break his concentration

Getting in your opponent’s head is a common strategy in basketball. Players get creative with this, including San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan, who recently managed to irritate Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams. 

Wednesday’s game between San Antonio and Memphis was a close battle that went into overtime and ended with the Grizzlies taking a 124-122 win, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort by Greg Popovich’s squad. According to San Antonio Express-News, Adams called Sochan a “dirty little bastard” during the game, but the 19-year-old was happy to receive that comment because he “keeps looking for trouble” as part of his strategy.

“He’s taking on any challenge he can find. it doesn’t matter who it is,” Jakob Poeltl said of his teammate Sochan during the postgame press conference. “Might be his matchup, it might be somebody that is across the court. He’s just out there looking for a challenge, looking for trouble. I like it. He’s got that fighting spirit.”

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon chimed in and told Adams’ side of the story on Twitter. Turns out, Sochan pinched Adams’ nipple. 

“In the last play of the game, he was messing me around — pinching me and stuff,” Adams said. “I was like, ‘Get out of here, dude!’ … He punched my nipple. I was like, ‘Get out of here, ya dirty bastard!’ Trying to break my concentration.”

Sochan finished Wednesday’s game with 13 points, two rebounds and two steals. He is averaging 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists through 11 games this season The 6-foot-8 forward is a Baylor alum that joined the Spurs as the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

It looks like Sochan is already getting comfortable in the league and is not afraid to take risks, even if some of his moves are unconventional.