The 20-year-old point guard led all NBA rookies in scoring this season and cemented himself as a pivotal piece of the team’s plans.
SAN ANTONIO — The setting of Victor Wembanyama’s Rookie of the Year presentation – the planetarium of San Antonio College – fit the aura of a young star who lends himself to cosmic comparisons. And if that’s the case, then perhaps Stephon Castle receiving the award on the hardwood of the still-new Victor Capital Performance Center is a hint as to his own nature: a dynamic, soft-spoken standout who already knows what it takes to win a title and has cemented himself as a core piece of the team’s future.
With his teammates and family on hand in a show of support that Castle says was crucial to his high-flying, high-scoring first NBA season – and while wearing the same show-stopper silver fortress as he did on draft night 10 months ago around his neck – the 20-year-old Spurs point guard says he was still humbled after reaching the expectation he had for himself all year.
“Toward the end of the season, I had no doubt in my mind I’d be here,” Castle said Wednesday afternoon, his trophy gleaming next to him. “But to hear it be official is really just a different feeling.”
General Manager Brian Wright and the rest of the top Spurs brass might know a bit of what he’s talking about.
Not the generational prospect Wembanyama was touted as two years ago, and yet a highly confident product of a title-winning UConn Huskies team, Castle was taken with the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft by San Antonio. That night, Wright said to start Wednesday’s presentation, the Spurs knew they had acquired a player who was “smart, competitive, willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team… and most importantly, somebody who was a winner.”
The Spurs might still have notched more losses than wins in a tumultuous year marked by the absence of head coach Gregg Popovich and, later, season-ending injuries for Wembanyama and newly acquired All-Star De’Aaron Fox.
>WATCH: Full trophy presentation
But Castle proved himself an X-factor nonetheless, playing a far bigger role in the team’s victories than in its defeats this season. With the advantage of learning from future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, Castle’s confident play translated rather seamlessly to the NBA—often on display in high-flying dunks and his veteran-like poise.
When the Spurs lost Wemby and Fox, Castle more than manned the hatches. He became one of the team’s most consistent players down the stretch. Aside from Philadelphia’s Jared McCain (whose season ended after just 23 games), Castle led all NBA rookies in scoring with 14.7 points per game, including a clip of 19.3 ppg over the last six weeks of the season.
He was also fourth in rebounds (4.1 per game), sixth in minutes (26.7) and tied for second in steals (0.9) over the course of the 2023-24 season while appearing in all but one game.
Castle points to his teammates as a huge reason for his success on the court this year. In the process, the Spurs became just the fifth franchise in league history to win back-to-back Rookie of the Year honors.
“The guys I was surrounded with every day, they made it super easy to play my game, play comfortable, be confident in it,” he said. “The support I get from those guys behind closed doors, that nobody sees, is very impactful.”
On Wednesday, that support extended into the franchise’s championship-winning past when David Robinson and Tim Duncan, along with teammate Wembanyama – each of the Spurs’ prior Rookie of the Year victors – popped by to officially present Castle with the honor. It was a moment that further clarified the greatness he has reached while teasing just how much higher he could go for a Silver & Black squad looking to return to contention.
Responding to a question about his Tuesday comments on TNT saying he believed the award now puts a “target on this back,” Castle made clear he knows his next assignment is to work harder ahead of his sophomore season.
He also made clear he would embrace the opportunity, and now a bigger spotlight.
“Everybody in the NBA probably saw I’m Rookie of the Year,” Castle said. “So next year, I can’t sneak up on anybody like I did this year. It’s a blessing to be in that position. I don’t shy away from any of those moments.”