Growing up between Poland and the United States, NBA star Jeremy Sochan took a handful of trips to Paris to play French basketball teams. For the most part, the visits weren’t all that memorable, but unbeknownst to him at the time, one would prove to be rather significant.
“One of the times I came to Paris as a kid was with the Polish National Team, and we actually played against Victor [Wembanyama],” Sochan tells Vogue, recalling a matchup with his current San Antonio Spurs teammate. “It’s so cool to think about now that it’s come full-circle—not only playing on the same team, but also both being back in Paris and getting to play here together.”
In May, when the NBA announced that the Spurs would face the Indiana Pacers for two games in Paris this season, “my eyes lit up, for sure,” Sochan says. “It was a dream, for real. And then finding out it was during fashion week, it [was] just mad.” Sochan is among the bevy of current NBA players as celebrated for their style as for their on-court talents. His wardrobe—a mix of Lardini suits, Rick Owens separates, and cozy Alo sweats—complements his ever-changing hair color. (For Paris, he went with an aqua-like blue-green mix.)
Last week, Sochan arrived in Paris with a suitcase full of looks to see him through the men’s shows, sightseeing, and his pre-game tunnel walk at Paris’s Arcor arena. For the Louis Vuitton show, where his seat mates included Chris Paul, A$AP Nast, Future, and Travis Scott, “I wore a blazer with no shirt under, which let me show off my chest tattoo a little bit,” he says. He wore it with flared pants and glasses.
Though “there’s nothing like our hometown crowd in San Antonio,” Sochan says, Paris fans brought their own kind of energy. “I think they were super excited because you never really see NBA games in Europe, so it was crazy from the get-go—from the moment we ran out for warm-ups. There were a bunch of Polish fans [and] lot of my family and friends came out, and that was special to me.”
The highlight of the trip, however, was simply being in Europe. “It felt fresh. It felt good. The vibes were good,” Sochan says. “Having the blessing to play in the NBA and then playing in Europe is crazy.” Oh, and one more thing: “The pastries,” he says. “The baguettes, the pain au chocolates, the croissants—fire.”
Here, Sochan shares photos from his time in Paris.
