Stephon Castle didn’t just hold his own in year two - he looked like a player San Antonio can build around for a long time.
The reigning Rookie of the Year kept climbing for the Spurs this season, giving them a real two-way force in the backcourt to pair with Victor Wembanyama up front. Castle’s impact showed up in every corner of the game: he brought scoring, playmaking and defensive energy while taking on a bigger role for a team pushing toward the upper tier of the league.
Across 68 regular-season games, Castle started all but one and put up nearly 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists per night. That production only grew once the postseason arrived.
He started all 23 Spurs games on their run to the NBA Finals, bumped his scoring average to more than 18 points and otherwise kept his numbers largely steady. Along the way, he also had multiple games where he took over.
The scoring and creation are already there. The next step is tightening the screws.
Castle’s biggest issue so far is control with the ball. He can pass and create shots, but his handle still needs work, and the turnover numbers reflect that. In the regular season, he gave it away more than 200 times, about 40 more than he did as a rookie.
Even with De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper giving San Antonio options at point guard, the Spurs would benefit from Castle becoming more secure with the ball. Cutting down on turnovers alone would make a difference for a team trying to keep climbing deep into the calendar.
Still, Castle has shown a level of poise that stands out for a second-year starter. He’s already a major piece for San Antonio, and if this trajectory holds, he’s going to matter well beyond the Spurs.
In Other News...
Tim Duncan Vs Steph Curry Should Not Even Be A Debate
The Tim Duncan-Steph Curry comparison always starts with style, because the two stars helped define very different eras of basketball. Duncan was the steady force of the Spurs machine, a two-way anchor whose presence translated into year-after-year contention and a trophy case filled with Finals hardware. Curry, meanwhile, changed the geometry of the game with his shooting and pushed the Warriors into a new offensive age, building a legacy that is just as unmistakable even if it looks nothing like Duncans.
Still, the debate gets sharper when the conversation turns from aesthetics to rsum. Duncans case is rooted in consistency, playoff reliability and the kind of championship equity that comes from being the constant in every run, while Currys case leans on revolutionary impact and the way his titles were shaped by a roster that kept evolving around him. For Spurs fans, the appeal is obvious: Duncans greatness never needed asterisk management, and that is exactly why this argument keeps circling back to him. [Read more 🡒]
Bleacher Report Just Validated What Spurs Fans Always Knew About Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan has always been the kind of player Spurs fans appreciated in the way only they could, with the quiet certainty that his value went far beyond the box score. Bleacher Reports latest defensive ranking only adds another layer to that long-held view, placing Duncan near the top of the all-time list and reinforcing the idea that his best work in San Antonio was often felt more than it was celebrated.
What makes the case even stronger is how complete Duncans defensive rsum really was across his 19-year career. He never won Defensive Player of the Year, yet he still set an NBA record with 15 All-Defensive First Team selections, a reminder that his impact on the Spurs identity was as foundational as his offense and maybe even more underrated than his reputation as a top-10 player suggests. [Read more 🡒]