Spurs’ Vassell, Sochan to miss rest of season

The San Antonio Spurs will be without Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan for the remainder of the season, the team announced on Monday.

Vassell, who missed the Spurs’ last game against the Golden State Warriors, underwent an MRI on Monday that revealed a stress reaction to the third metatarsal head in his right foot.

Sochan originally injured his left ankle against the New York Knicks last Friday. The Spurs said after meeting with outside experts, they have determined that arthroscopic surgery is the best approach.

Vassell averaged a career-high 19.5 points this season and played in 68 games, starting a career-best 62. He also averaged 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds a game while shooting 47.2% from the field, another career high.

After not having a 30-point game in his first three seasons, Vassell had six such efforts this season including a season-high 36 against the Lakers in December in a game that snapped a franchise-record 18-game losing streak. His 166 3-pointers this season are tied for the third most in a single season in Spurs history.

Vassell also was developing a strong two-man game with Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. Vassell had 87 assists to Wembanyama this season, the second most on the team behind Tre Jones. Meanwhile, Wembanyama assisted to Vassell 50 times, the most of any of his teammates.

Sochan, a 6-foot-9 power forward, started the season as the team’s starting point guard but was moved into a more traditional forward role after 20 games.

A second-year forward from Baylor, Sochan increased his scoring (11.6), rebounding (6.4) and assists (3.4) per game this season for San Antonio. He also more than doubled the amount of 3-pointers from his rookie season, going from 33 to 70.

He had played in the Spurs’ first 74 games before sitting out against the Warriors.