San Antonio Spurs: Stephon Castle’s Case for Rookie of the Year

The Spurs could have rookies take home hardware in back-to-back seasons.

Jul 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) walks up court during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, after a month or so of revving up, soon-to-be superstar Victor Wembanyama ran away with the Rookie of the Year Award.

Most simply, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman was a basketball titan, putting together one of the best rookie seasons we’ve ever seen with 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. While players like Chet Holmgren and Brandon Miller were great, there was little real resistance to Wembanyama’s campaign.

The 2024-25 Rookie of the Year Award, though, will be wide open. 

Selected at No. 4 overall by the Spurs in the recent ’24 draft, Stephon Castle will be one of the top names to watch this season. 

A 6-foot-6 guard-forward hybrid who helped the UConn huskies to their second-straight national championship, Castle is undoubtedly one of the top talents in the draft. And will make his name alongside a likely All-Star next year in Wembanyama.

With a strong defensive skillset, Castle will likely be used as a point-of-attack weapon for the time being, but stands to get better on the handling, passing and decision-making fronts to potentially become the team’s jumbo point guard of the future.

He was only able to play one game in the Las Vegas Summer League slate due to a smaller injury, but managed to pour on 22 points, five rebounds and four assists in an exceptionally strong performance.

Wembanyama will certainly make Castle’s life easier in his debut season. And if he can put together a strong stat line, he could bring the Spurs another Rookie of the Year Award.

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