Can Castle be the first Spur to win the Slam Dunk Contest? Oddsmakers don’t think so.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs’ Stephon Castle will represent the team at the 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in San Francisco.
He’ll be looking to become the first player in team history to win the dunk title, but the oddsmakers are not giving him any shot to be victorious.
In fact, one oddsmaker thinks he will not even be a factor in the event.
BetOnline says Castle’s chances of winning are at +450. This puts him dead last in the field. The oddsmaker is projecting Mac McClung to defend his dunk title with -180 odds. Andre Jackson Jr. (+375) and Matas Buzelis (+350) are ahead of Castle.
It may be a stacked field with high flyers and the defending champ, but Castle can dunk with the best of them. His height, hang time and power at the rim have been on display this season.
Just ask the Thunder defense when he went to the rim for the power slam!
Castle will be heading into the contest with advice from a legendary dunker: Vince Carter.
In a nutshell, Carter advises that missing dunks is not good and that he should dunk like he is out to win.
Also, he’s been practicing for the event and has a few dunks that might wow the audience and the judges.
Watch what Spurs executive Brandon James had to say about Castle ahead of the contest.
Castle has been a big surprise at the start of the season.
He’s currently averaging 12.2 points per game, including 2.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 40.6% field goal shooting.
“I feel like it just comes from my versatility defensively. I feel like that kind of set it off,” said Castle about his confidence on the court. “And then, just with the playmaking stuff that I can do. I set screens and do whatever I can do on the court to help us win. I feel like that’s where most of the confidence comes from.”
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He also won the January Rookie of the Month Award and was invited to play at the NBA Rising Stars Game, leaving his early mark in the NBA and showing his bright future.