The ball clanked off the rim shortly after Stephon Castle initially thought he made a basket.
The whistles shrieked shortly after Castle initially thought he contested a shot successfully.
The San Antonio Spurs' prospect has mostly sparked Rookie of the Year buzz for his scoring and defense throughout the 2024-25 season. During the Spurs' recent loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, however, Castle experienced moments that most other rookies endure.
He labored through a shooting slump. He fell into early foul trouble. Unlike the typical rookie, however, Castle masked his internal frustration with external resiliency.
"His temperament and consistency not to really flinch at anything that's been thrown at him has served him well," Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. "You've seen the confidence really grow."
The Spurs have mostly seen Castle's confidence correlate with strong production. San Antonio (28-39) enters Wednesday's game against the New York Knicks (43-24) with Castle ranking second in his rookie class in points (13.8), fifth in assists (3.5) and sixth in steals (.92) per game. The Spurs drafted Castle at No. 4 overall partly because of how he played a major role in Connecticut's national championship run during his freshman season.
That strong résumé, however, has also coincided with Castle's navigating a rookie's typical adjustment with managing fluid team results, playing time and dominant opponents. The Spurs have all but mathematically fallen out of playoff contention after recently losing their second-year All-Star (Victor Wembanyama) and key trade-deadline acquisition (De'Aaron Fox) to season-ending injuries. Castle has played almost equally as a starter (32 games) and reserve (34). And the Spurs often lean on Castle to score, make plays and guard the opponent's top player.
That job description initially became overwhelming in the Spurs' recent loss against the Lakers. In the first half, Castle shot only 2-for-8 from the field and 1-for-3 from deep while also committing three fouls as the one of the team's defenders on Luka Dončić. After Castle committed a turnover and fouled Lakers center Jaxson Hayes on an alley-oop dunk with 9:08 left in the third quarter, Johnson subbed Castle out and talked to him on the sideline. Castle listened intently to Johnson without showing any signs of frustration with the officiating or his play.
"It's just about playing free and not letting my confidence drop off of makes or misses," Castle said. "It's about allowing it to keep rising, based off the impact I make defensively. I feel like that's my strong suit. So I'm just trying to hold my own on that end. I feel like that kind of sets the tone for whatever kind of night I'm going to have."
Castle's mindset also set the tone for a bounce-back performance against the Lakers. He ultimately finished with a team-leading 23 points while shooting 8-for-19 from the field and 3-for-6 from deep. In the second half, Castle went 6-for-11 overall both by driving more to the basket and by improving his looks from 3-point range (2-for-3). Though Castle collected two more fouls, the Spurs credited him for defending aggressively.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Monday. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
"Steph is confident because he believes in the work that he puts in," Spurs veteran teammate Chris Paul said. "That's the only way you can be confident. He's in the gym day in and day out."
Beyond attending the team's mandatory shootarounds, practices and weight-training sessions, Castle often fills the rest of his free time by watching game footage. To prepare for each game, Castle said he watches a handful of his future opponent's recent matchups to observe player tendencies. He studies how his opponent likes to score and move on and off the ball. He observes the player's rhythm. He stores all the notes in his memory bank in case it becomes useful on-court information.
"It's not really whether you like it or not. I feel like it's needed against those kind of [elite] guys," Castle said. "I feel like if you don't do it, you're doing yourself a disservice."
Instead, Castle has fulfilled a needed service.
Before Wembanyama's season-ending blood-clot diagnosis, he became the heavy favorite to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award for his rim protection (3.8 blocks per game), deflections (1.1 steals per game) and how he kept rotations organized with his 7-foot-3, 235-pound presence. The Spurs also have established a strong defensive identity because of Castle. According to NBA.com's tracking data, Castle has held key players to limited shooting performances, including Dončić (combined 1-for-6 in three games), Kyrie Irving (combined 2-for-7 in two games) and Austin Reaves (combined 6-for-16 in four games).
Spurs guard Stephon Castle drives to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans center Mo Bamba defends at Frost Bank Center on March 15. Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
"There are definitely All-Defensive awards in his future," Spurs veteran forward Harrison Barnes said of Castle. "It's just with his ability to guard one through four. And he's strong. There's still years before he's going to fill out his body and be the type of player that he is going to become. But I think that he shows a great aptitude to defend at a very high level."
At least enough to earn league-wide respect. In January, Castle won Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors after leading his rookie class in points per game (14.9). Paul praised Castle for how he has read defensive coverages, a skill he observed "usually takes some guys a while to figure that out." Following a timeout early in the fourth quarter of Monday's game, Lakers star LeBron James hugged Castle and appeared to compliment him before play resumed.
Just like the Spurs' game against the Lakers illustrated, though, Castle has faced some speed bumps. Despite his defensive potential, Castle has struggled defensively against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (combined 9-for-16 in three games), Ja Morant (9-for-15 in two games), Jordan Poole (7-for-14 in two games) and Damian Lillard (6-for-11 in two games).
At this point, though, the Spurs place more importance in Castle's habits than his results.
"He's a two-way player," Paul said of Castle. "He defends. He doesn't duck matchups. There's a whole different kind of shape that you have to be in when you play like that. And he understands that."
Castle understands that partly because of the positive influence that Paul and Barnes provide with an organization that prides itself on structure and team-oriented players. Johnson considered that dynamic "valuable" because of how disciplined Paul and Barnes have stayed throughout their NBA careers with their training and dietary routines. Nonetheless, it appears the 20-year-old Castle has accelerated his development mostly because of himself. As Paul conceded, "I'm not with him with his game prep."
The Spurs are with Castle, however, during his many highs and occasional lows during his rookie season. They have liked how he has handled both circumstances.
"He's playing with poise," Barnes said of Castle. "He just has a confidence in himself to take big-game shots, to take on defensive matchups and take on responsibilities of being a point guard in this league and all that entails. I think he's done a great job with that."
Mark Medina is anNBA contributor for Athlon Sports. Follow him onX,Blue Sky,Instagram,Facebook andThreads.
Related: Spurs' Blake Wesley Showcases Hidden Talents vs. Lakers
Related: Inside Mitch Johnson's Raw Insights on Spurs-Lakers Drama
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM.