Stephon Castle’s take on Madison Square Garden is making the rounds in New York, and Knicks fans are not letting it slide.
The Spurs guard was in the building for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, when San Antonio visited the Garden for the first Finals game there in 27 years. After dropping the first two games in San Antonio, the Spurs answered with a 115-11 road win.
But it was Castle’s recent GQ interview that set off the reaction. The 21-year-old said he expected much more noise from the MSG crowd during that Game 3 matchup, and he pointed to Oklahoma City’s arena as the louder environment from San Antonio’s Western Conference Finals run.
“It was underwhelming in that first game,” Castle said. “They made it seem like it was going to be way crazier in there. ... OKC was way louder than MSG.”
That line didn’t land well with Knicks fans, especially after what happened later in the series. In Game 4 at MSG, New York erased a historic 29-point deficit to win, then finished the job with a Game 5 victory in San Antonio.
The response online came fast.
"Hey Stephon Castle, trolling won’t win you the championship last season…" one wrote.
"How are they STILL trying to play this nonchalant unfazed gimmick??" another asked.
"This is exactly what I would say if I was salty that I lost," another said.
"So is that why you blew a 30 point lead?" another added.
The Spurs and Knicks are both set to open the 2026-27 regular season on Oct. 20. San Antonio will face the Thunder that night, while New York begins its title-defense campaign against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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