Stephon Castle’s early shooting surge is already changing how teams can defend the Spurs.
Through three games, Castle has taken 29 threes and made 11 of them, good for 37.9% on the third-most attempts in the league at the time of writing this article - 10 a night. He launched 12 against the Thunder, nine in Austin against the Rockets, and then eight more in Saturday’s 122-106 win in Dallas.
That kind of volume is the real story. It’s still way too early to stamp Castle as a 38% shooter, and he probably wouldn’t do it himself anyway.
But the number of attempts matters because San Antonio needs him firing away. If defenses are willing to give him space, the Spurs want him punishing that choice.
The practice clips from the summer hinted this might be coming. Same motion, same follow-through, rep after rep.
If this holds, opponents won’t be able to start games by parking their center off Castle and daring him to shoot. And if they do, that’s a win for the defense.
The whole point is to make them pay for that disrespectful look.
The other piece that stands out is Castle’s pull-up game, especially from short and midrange. That’s the shot to keep watching.
He gets downhill as well as almost any guard, which forces defenses to collapse and crowd the lane. Once that happens, the rest of the floor opens up - whether it’s a lob to Victor Wembanyama or Luke Kornet in pick-and-roll action, or a clean pocket jumper for Castle himself.
That’s what makes his jump shot so important. Give him space and he’ll take the three.
Close out hard and he’s at the rim. Load up to stop the drive, and he can rise into the pull-up.
There isn’t much a defense can do if he keeps sharpening that part of his game.
Castle also keeps getting talked about as the third piece in the Wemby, Castle, Dylan Harper trio, but that label sells him short. His versatility on both ends makes him too important to treat like an afterthought, and his competitiveness shows up every time he steps on the floor. He’s already really good, and he’s still improving.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Have A New Opening In The West Race
A sudden injury scare in Oklahoma City has already nudged the Western Conference conversation in San Antonios direction, at least in the eyes of the betting market. After Jalen Williams went down with a lower left leg injury and was taken off on a stretcher, FanDuel Sportsbook shifted the Spurs ahead of the Thunder in the 2027 NBA title odds, a notable swing for a team that is still just 1-2 and trying to settle into its own season.
The timing is what makes it interesting for the Spurs, because Oklahoma City entered the week unbeaten at 3-0 and looked like one of the leagues early standard-bearers. With no official diagnosis yet for Williams as of Sunday night, the bigger picture in the West remains cloudy, but San Antonio at least found itself on the right side of a market move that says plenty about how quickly the balance can feel like it is changing. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremy Sochan Faces A Tough New Reality After Spurs Run
Jeremy Sochans latest stop comes with a different kind of pressure, and not much time to settle in. After a championship run with the New York Knicks and a previous stint with the San Antonio Spurs, he was selected No. 1 overall by the Texas Legends in the NBA G League Draft, giving him a new path as he enters his fifth professional season.
Sochan had signed a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, only to be waived before the regular season, which made the G League route a necessary next step rather than a detour. Even so, both the Texas Legends and the Dallas Mavericks organization have signaled belief in what he can still become, leaving his next move as one of the more interesting subplots around his career. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Keeps Proving The 2023 Draft Was No Debate
The 2023 draft class has been measured against Victor Wembanyama ever since the night San Antonio landed the first pick, and the comparison has only gotten starker as the league has moved on. Portlands decision not to reach a rookie extension with Scoot Henderson before the deadline adds another note to that conversation, because Henderson was taken third that year and now heads toward restricted free agency next summer after the Blazers and their young guard couldnt come to terms.
Wembanyama, meanwhile, just reinforced the gap on a much bigger stage. In the 2026 playoffs, he and Henderson met in the first round, and the Spurs star led San Antonio to a series win with the kind of individual impact that keeps separating him from his classmates. Around the league, other members of that draft have had moments, but none have touched the level Wembanyama is already bringing to a postseason series. [Read more 🡒]