Spurs rookie guard Castle continues to slide down the NBA Rookie Ladder.
SAN ANTONIO — After being ranked No. 4 on the NBA Rookie Ladder a week ago, San Antonio Spurs‘ rookie Stephon Castle fell to No. 5 in the latest edition.
Ahead of him are Wizards’ Alex Sarr (No. 1), Pelican’s Yves Missi (No.2), Memphis’ Jaylen Wells (No. 3), and Memphis’ Zach Edey (No. 4), followed by Castle.
“Castle averaged 25.1 minutes, seventh most among rookies, through December. But playing off the bench, he has dipped to 19.9 in January,” NBA.com posted. “He still is getting up shots, though, second (14.5) behind only Zaccharie Risacher (15.1) per 36 minutes.”
Castle certainly has slowed his on-court production. Before Wednesday night’s Milwaukee game, he averaged a season-low 19.7 minutes per game.
This has affected his stats, as he averages just 8.3 points per game, including 1.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 0.2 steals in four games in January.
However, this might be because the Spurs have had him come off the bench since Devin Vassell’s return (he did start versus the Bucks in place of the injured Jeremy Sochan), which might have impacted his rhythm, or he might have hit the proverbial “rookie wall.”
WEMBANYAMA AT NO. 4 IN WEST NBA ALL-STAR FAN VOTING
The NBA released the second fan return for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama currently ranks fourth among the West’s frontcourt. He moved up one spot after coming in fifth in the first returns.
Wemby received 1,630,948 fan votes, placing him behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic (No. 1), Phoenix’s Kevin Durant (No. 2), and the Lakers’ LeBron James (No. 3).
He leaped past the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, who was at No.4 in the first fan returns.
Tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 10) marks the next “3-for-1 Day,” when each vote by NBA ID members counts three times. The next fan voting update will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 16, and voting will conclude on Monday, Jan. 20, at 11:59 p.m. ET. TNT will reveal the NBA All-Star Game starters on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. ET.
The NBA All-Star Game will be on Feb. 16 in San Francisco.