Inside The Spurs

Spurs Rookie Stephon Castle's Strong Statement on Victor Wembanyama

San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle had high praise for star teammate Victor Wembanyama

Matt Guzman

Feb 15, 2025; Oakland, CA, USA; Chuck’s Global Stars forward Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs warms up during the NBA All Star-Practice at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2025; Oakland, CA, USA; Chuck’s Global Stars forward Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs warms up during the NBA All Star-Practice at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
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From day one, Stephon Castle was thrilled at the prospect of playing alongside Victor Wembanyama.

The obvious allure was, well, obvious. A 7-foot-3 big man who plays like a guard is one-of-a-kind in the NBA, and on top of it, he was only one year older than Castle with an incredibly bright future in front of him. But Castle thought beyond the obvious.

Playing next to him was especially favorable. Why? Castle was a defensive-minded presence, and having a rim protector as strong as Wembanyama behind him made things easy.

"It makes me more aggressive defensively, knowing I can pressure up a little more," Castle said during Spurs training camp. "(There's) not much of a penalty if I get beat. I have Vic behind me."

Flash forward to NBA All-Star weekend, and Castle put on a show as the Rookie of the Year frontrunner. Most of the success came from his own prowess on both ends of the floor, but it certainly helped having Wembanyama around.

When asked about it, he doubled down.

"Just how much attention (Wembanyama) draws," Castle began, "It opens up the court for everybody else. He’s super versatile. He’s an unbelievable passer. That is one of the most underrated parts of his game ... You can put him anywhere on the court, and I feel like he’ll thrive."

Midway through the season, the Spurs sit a few games outside of the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. Castle has thrived as a defensive threat and Wembanyama the same, but the next step for both players is for such success to translate to wins.

Luckily for San Antonio, it seems as if the pair is beginning to figure it out.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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