Amidst all the trade chaos of the last few days, the “draft” for the 2023 NBA Rising Stars Challenge took place. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan was selected 10th overall by none other than Joakim Noah with his 4th pick.
It seems rather fitting that Noah would select Sochan. During his prime with the Bulls, he was a 2x All-Star, 2014 Defensive Player of the Year, and generally known as a pest on defense who didn’t mind playing the role of enforcer. However, (hopefully) the comparisons between the two end on the defensive end, as Noah was never much more than a post presence on offense in his career, while Sochan has already shown to have a more well rounded (and still rapidly improving) offensive game.