'Great Mentality': Stephon Castle Shows Promise in Spurs' Preseason Loss to Thunder

The San Antonio Spurs fell short to the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night to kick off their preseason slate, but one of their bright spots — though still developing — was rookie Stephon Castle.

Oct 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

On his first possession as a San Antonio Spur, Stephon Castle caught the inbound pass, turned and scanned the floor.

Almost cautious, the rookie backed down his defender, then exploded off a screen and saw the open man: his teammate, Malaki Branham in the corner. Branham drove past the nearest defender to the short corner, pulled up and popped.

Two points for San Antonio and the first tally in the scorebook for Castle's NBA career.

As far as debut performances go, Castle's was memorable. Despite a late third-quarter comeback from the Spurs, they were outscored by Oklahoma City Thunder in a 112-107 loss.

READ MORE: Stephon Castle Speaks on Spurs' 'Aggressive' Defensive Mindset

In the post-game press conference, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich praised his young players and underscored their defensive hustle.

"I really enjoyed Blake and Steph Castle playing 'D' out there, getting after people," he said. "They have a great mentality ... hopefully, that will infuse to some other players."

Oct 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Castle delivered the highlight of the game late in the third quarter. He caught the ball unguarded on the wing, just a few feet from the Thunder's bench. In three steps and two dribbles, Castle was soaring across the paint and jammed the ball, one-handed, over Thunder guard Alex Ducas.

It was one of Castle's many fleeting moments of promise throughout the game, but the rookie — who scored five points and made three assists — struggled to take care of the ball. He had the most turnovers of any Spur, six, on the night due to a combination of bad passes, offensive fouls and traveling calls.

READ MORE: Gregg Popovich Brushes Off Spurs' 1st Preseason Loss

All in all, the rookie has a long road of development ahead of him, but also has all the support from Popovich and the Spurs' organization. As far as he's concerned, that's a good thing.

Castle is expected to play on Wednesday for the Spurs in their second preseason matchup against the Orlando Magic at home. Tipoff for that contest is 7 p.m. Central.

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