Castle said the night he was drafted that San Antonio’s future could be bright with him and Wembanyama. Less than two years later, hype has become reality.
SAN ANTONIO — The myth of Area 51 is often associated with the genre of scifi.
But near the end of their second regular season as Spurs teammates, Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle are suggesting the on-court success they’ve found together hews closer to a different scientific realm: chemistry.
“He understands me very well,” Wembanyama said after San Antonio’s latest win, a 129-114 victory over Chicago on Monday. “That’s not randomly (that) we’re in sync. We get along together because he, as the ballhandler, is actively trying to get the best shot on the team… And I’m trying to make sure every time he throws it up, it ends up in a dunk.”
That connection between No. 5 and No. 1 has grown stronger over the course of the season, and it’s one of the reasons San Antonio is preparing for its first playoff action since 2019 despite their combined age – 43 – nearly matching that of 41-year-old Lebron James.
Wembanyama and Castle sandwich De’Aaron Fox as the leading and third-leading scorers for San Antonio this season. But as anyone who’s been to the Frost Bank Center can attest, when Castle lobs it up for a leaping Wemby, the crowd tends to roar louder and jump higher as as it has all night.
The chemistry was on strong display Monday against the Bulls. In that win, four of Castle’s 10 assists were tallied as Wembanyama buckets—including two dunks.
No Spur has led the team in points more times this year than Wembanyama. Conversely, and appropriately, no Spurs has finished with more assists in games this year than Castle.
Combine that with the team’s success this season – 57-18, second in the West and within ear shot of Oklahoma City for the top seed – and it’s clear to see why Castle could prove just as important a long-term piece for the Spurs as their extraterrestrial center. After all, Castle said mere minutes after talking with Wembanyama upon being drafted with the fourth overall pick in 2024 that he was looking forward to what their combined talents could do in San Antonio.
“It being the youngest team in the league right now, I feel like our future is pretty bright,” Castle said on that night.
Less than two years later, after a March 23 win over Miami, Castle said he embraced his and Wembanyama’s play as foundational to the Silver & Black’s success.
“As a group I feel like we all challenge each other,” he said that night. “But for me and Vic specifically, coming in back-to-back years, obviously we have a lot of conversations of things we can do all over the court. And I feel like we just do it by example too—playing hard, even when we’re up 30, diving on loose balls. Just challenging each other to continue to do the little things and play the right way.”
The Spurs are now being hyped as NBA Finals contenders despite most of the team’s young players not yet logging a minute of playoff action. Even still, Wembanyama made clear Monday night that the dynamic he and Castle have developed continues for a long time in the Alamo City—proving Area 51 could be less the stuff of myth and more of annual expectation.
“It’s great. It’s just the beginning,” Wemby said. “I hope to spend 15 years as his teammate, so hopefully we see thousands of lobs.”