Column: Stephon Castle's Championship Experience Could Impact Spurs in Near Future

UConn guard Stephon Castle was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.

Connecticut Huskies guard Stephon Castle (5) cuts the basketball net after winning the Men's NCAA national championship game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on April 8, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY

When Stephon Castle was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday night, one can notice right away that tears filled his eyes.

After placing the Spurs hat on top of his head, Castle's nose began to turn red with emotion as he walked down the aisle. He hugged his family and friends, but also UConn teammate/draft prospect Donovan Clingan and Huskies head coach Dan Hurley.

Castle, Clingan and Hurley are coming off a National Championship at UConn as they dominated Purdue in the final match this past April. The Huskies won it all last year as well, but Castle and Clingan were still in high school.

Castle's championship experience is a big asset to San Antonio's future. The 6-foot-6 guard joins a Spurs team that hasn't recorded a winning season since 2018-19.

Castle finished with double-digit points in four of the Huskies' six NCAA Tournament games this past season, including 21 against Alabama in the Final Four and 15 against Purdue in the National Championship.

The 19-year-old has what it takes to be a solid NBA defender, bringing effort and intensity to any matchup he faced last season. He's got good pace and a quick change of direction on him, so as he transitions from facing collegiate ball handlers to professional ones, he won't be nearly as lost.

While there are plenty of upsides and a high potential for Castle, however, his shooting certainly needs work, and he still has more to prove before he can be trusted as a true point guard.

On the season, he shot under 30 percent from 3-point range — an unacceptable figure — but showed flashes of strong shooting on shots closer to the basket. If he's able to work on his pure shooting, it'd certainly help round him out as he searches for a role on any NBA squad.

San Antonio is led by reigning rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama, who has been given the ultimate responsibility of leading the Spurs back to the team they were to start the 21st century, as they've won five NBA Finals since the 1998-99 season.

Castle's championship experience combined with Wembanyama's indescribable skillset has the potential to create an under-the-radar duo in the league which makes for a good start back into the Spurs' supremacy.

Castle will be coached by Gregg Popovich, the man behind those five rings. It's uncertain how much longer the NBA's all-time winningest coach will remain the voice of San Antonio as he's 75-years-old and has been coaching in the league since 1988.

Popovich's legacy in building up players over the years has not gone unnoticed and the addition of Castle could be an easier transition than most due to their shared bond of cutting the nets down.

"I was just playing for the best coach in college basketball and now flipping to the NBA and going to play for a legendary coach like Coach Pop," Castle said during his NBA Draft press conference. "It's a blessing. On the culture side of things, it's not really a big culture change from UConn to San Antonio. Just being out there in the pre-draft process, you can tell it's a hardworking program and super hard-nosed. I just can't wait to go out there and just show what I got."