<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-joins-victor-wembanyama-exclusive-club-second-award-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Stephon Castle joins Victor Wembanyama in exclusive club with second award win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Stephon-Castle-joins-Wemby-in-exclusive-club-with-second-award-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Stephon Castle joins Victor Wembanyama in exclusive club with second award win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T21:44:54-07:00">April 1st, 9:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T21:44:54-07:00">April 1st, 9:44pm</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As blossoming star Stephon Castle has set himself up as the inevitable winner of this <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-exclusive-tim-duncan-club">season’s NBA Rookie of the Year</a>, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the San Antonio Spurs guard has captured his second Rookie of the Month award.</p><p>What might be surprising, however, is the company that Castle now keeps among the greatest players in franchise history. After also taking home the honor in January, the national champion with the UConn Huskies last year joins <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-enters-tim-duncan-david-robinson-territory">David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Victor Wembanyama</a> as the only Spurs ever to win the award multiple times.</p><h2>Stephon Castle’s standout March within a very good season</h2><p>Through 17 games in March, Castle started 10 of them. He averaged a <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1907153125557043602" rel="noopener">rookie-best 19.5 points to go with 4.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists</a> in 28.8 minutes. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-stephon-castle-5-word-message-team-shaq-rising-stars-mvp">2025 Rising Stars MVP</a> scored in double figures in 15 of 17 contests, including nine with 20-or-more, with four of those performances coming off the bench. He was the only rookie to make more than 100 field goals, with 118 in the month. Castle’s 70 free throws made led all first-year players and his 81 assists ranked second. From March 14 to March 29, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-stephon-castle-reveals-specific-area-improve-amid-rookie-season">20-year-old guard/wing player</a> enjoyed a streak of nine games where he put up at least 15 points, becoming the sixth Spurs rookie all-time with such a streak.</p><p>Castle averaged 25.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.3 rebounds against the top three defenses in the league throughout the month. On March 2, vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, he finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. He followed that with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists at the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 27. Two nights later, he recorded 22 points, eight assists, and two rebounds vs. the defending champion Boston Celtics.</p><p>The first-year guard handed out a season-best 14 assists to go along with 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals in a 128-120 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 21. He’s the first rookie since Josh Giddey, who accomplished the feat on January 1, 2022, to put up those stats in the same game.</p><p>Castle is the only rook with more than 1,000 points this season. Among rookie league leaders, he ranks first in scoring at 14.2 points per game, field goals made with 372, and free throws made at 210. He’s second in steals, averaging .95 per contest, and fourth in assists, tallying 3.7 per night.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/San-Antonio-Spurs-guard-Stephon-Castle-5-shoots-over-Orlando-Magic-forward-Franz-Wagner-22-in-the-first-half-at-Frost-Bank-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2>Castle joins Spurs legends with his Rookie of the Month win</h2><p>Both Robinson (1989-90) and Duncan (1998-99) won all six Rookie of the Month’s in their respective first years as professionals. As of the 2001-2002 season, the NBA honors a rookie in each conference. Wembanyama captured the West award in each of the final three months last year on his way to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-immediate-reaction-to-winning-rookie-of-the-year">unanimous Rookie of the Year</a> nod. All three were number one overall picks. Like Wemby, Robinson also won the ROY unanimously, while Duncan’s 113 votes came up just three shy of getting all of the tabulations.</p><p>Castle was taken fourth overall this past summer. Only Spurs legend Sean Elliott, who went third in the 1989 draft, has been drafted higher in Spurs history among players not named Duncan, Robinson, and Wembanyama. He’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-revealing-take-tracking-rookie-year-race">on track to join them again</a> in a little more than a month as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-teammates-sound-off-definite-rookie-of-the-year-chances">NBA Rookie of the Year</a> winners.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Stephon Castle joins Victor Wembanyama in exclusive club with second award win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-stephon-castle-reveals-specific-area-improve-amid-rookie-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs’ Stephon Castle reveals specific area he wants to improve on amid rookie season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Stephon-Castle-reveals-specific-area-he-wants-to-improve-on-amid-rookie-season.jpg"></figure><h1>Spurs’ Stephon Castle reveals specific area he wants to improve on amid rookie season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T04:27:19-07:00">March 31st, 4:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T04:27:19-07:00">March 31st, 4:27am</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a stretch of four consecutive games that pitted the San Antonio Spurs against teams that are firmly entrenched in the NBA playoff picture, their standout rookie Stephon Castle has continued to shine.</p><p>Versus the Detroit Pistons, the former UConn Husky scored 19 points. At the Cleveland Cavaliers, he put in 22 points. Against the defending champion Boston Celtics, he again registered 22. And in just 22 minutes vs. the Golden State Warriors, he scored nine in a game that saw the Spurs total just 106 in their most lopsided loss of the season.</p><p>For the season, Castle has 22 contests in which he’s scored at least 20. No other rookie has even half as many games.</p><p>The 20-year-old guard has moved the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-exclusive-tim-duncan-club">Rookie of the Year race</a> to a point where his chances of winning the award need to transition from <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-revealing-take-tracking-rookie-year-race">“favorite” and “likely”</a> to inevitable.</p><p>Even still, when asked by ClutchPoints about what’s proven a worthy first season, the Covington, Georgia native took time to <a href="https://x.com/HectorLedesmaTV/status/1906367229634949416" rel="noopener">focus on what he’s not yet doing</a>.</p><p>“Going into next year, something I want to continue to get better on is efficiency. Stuff like that, keeping my turnover numbers down.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Talked w/Stephon Castle about his continued offensive output. W/22 last night, it was his 22nd game w/20+ pts this season. No other <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> rookie has half as many such games</p><p>Constantly looking forward…</p><p>“Something I want to continue to get better on is efficiency”</p><p>Full answer⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/nAE9hepAAL">pic.twitter.com/nAE9hepAAL</a></p><p>— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/HectorLedesmaTV/status/1906367229634949416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It’s not a surprising answer from a young man who’s downplayed the Rookie of the Year race since he’s taken its center stage.</p><h2>Stephon Castle reflects on  rookie season</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/San-Antonio-Spurs-guard-Stephon-Castle-5-dribbles-past-Golden-State-Warriors-guard-Brandin-Podziemski-2-in-the-second-half-at-Frost-Bank-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>ClutchPoints asked Castle a couple of questions about a season that’s seen him average about 14 and a half points, nearly four assists and almost three and a half rebounds per contest.</p><p>“Honestly, I don’t know,” last year’s national champion at Connecticut admitted.</p><p>“Just really playing my game, honestly. Not really trying to look at that too much,” Castle continued. “I feel like it just comes with it. I feel like a lot of that comes from my teammates setting me up, putting me in good positions, getting me the ball in the right spots. My ability to draw fouls has also helped me in getting to the free throw line, getting easier buckets.”</p><p>While the Pistons and Warriors are both in the middle of their respective playoff pictures, the Cavaliers and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/chris-paul-turned-back-clock-spurs-celtics">Celtics are at the top of the Eastern Conference</a> standings. All of them are headed to the playoffs. And against them, Castle’s game met the match-ups.</p><p>“I feel like my confidence level doesn’t really drop depending on who’s on the court,” the NBA Rising Star said. “I feel like, at the end of the day, it’s still basketball, you’ve still got to go out there and compete. I look at it as a blessing, an opportunity to be able to share the court with those guys every day, do what we love to do. I wouldn’t shy away from those kinds of moments.”</p><p>The fourth overall pick of this past summer’s NBA draft, the Spurs <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-2024-nba-draft-grades-for-stephon-castle-timberwolves-trade">hoped Castle would prove a key piece</a> of their future.</p><p>“Just reflecting on the year. I feel like it’s been a good year. It could have been better.”</p><p>From Castle’s mouth to the ears of opponents for seasons to come, it’s a frightening thought.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs’ Stephon Castle reveals specific area he wants to improve on amid rookie season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-exclusive-tim-duncan-club');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs’ Stephon Castle joins exclusive Tim Duncan club amid big rookie season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Spurs-news-SC-joins-extremely-exclusive-Tim-Duncan-club-amid-big-rookie-season.jpg"></figure><h1>Spurs’ Stephon Castle joins exclusive Tim Duncan club amid big rookie season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T21:49:17-07:00">March 27th, 9:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T21:49:17-07:00">March 27th, 9:49pm</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Outside of their fabled number-one overall picks, only one player in San Antonio Spurs history has been drafted higher than Stephon Castle. And while Sean Elliott, who went third overall in the 1989 NBA Draft, ranks as one of the greatest in Silver and Black history, it’s Stephon Castle who’s now joined <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-enters-tim-duncan-david-robinson-territory">Tim Duncan, Victor Wembanyama, and David Robinson</a>.</p><p>In a 124-116 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Castle led San Antonio in points, rebounds, and assists, with 22 (Devin Vassell also notched 22), 11 and eight. With that performance, he became just the fourth rookie in franchise history to score more than 20, grab more than 10 boards, and dish out more than five assists in the same game.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-victor-wembanyama-hopes-to-match-tim-duncan-with-rookie-all-nba-honors">Wembanyama had 11 such games last season</a>. Duncan put up six of those outings in 1997-’98 while Robinson registered three like games in 1989-’90. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-2024-nba-draft-grades-for-stephon-castle-timberwolves-trade">Taken with the fourth overall pick this past summer</a>, Castle, a national champion at UConn in his only year in college, entered San Antonio with intriguing expectations. His stat line in Cleveland wasn’t his only accomplishment that night.</p><h2>Stephon Castle reaches 1,000 point mark</h2><p>With 1,008 points on the season following the contest, Castle became the first rookie to hit 1,000 this year. In doing so, he hit a couple more franchise milestones.</p><p>The 20-year-old Covington, Georgia native is now just one of three Spurs rookies to surpass 1,000 points and 250 assists. One of the other two to accomplish that feat will surprise some. Willie Anderson enjoyed a fine first season in 1988-’89 before becoming a cog in the Robinson-led Spurs of the 1990s. The other of the two won’t stun anybody. Wemby surpassed those numbers on his way to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-immediate-reaction-to-winning-rookie-of-the-year">2023-’24 Rookie of the Year</a>.</p><p>The 1,000-plus points also make Castle the fifth Spur to score as much in his first season in the NBA. Along with the aforementioned Anderson, the usual suspects round out the list: <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/reasons-david-robinson-not-tim-duncan-better-victor-wembanyama-rookie-comparison-spurs">Duncan, Robinson, and Wembanyama</a>.</p><p>In typical Spurs fashion, though, Castle focused more on the outcome vs. the Cavs than on his accomplishments.</p><h2>Castle reacts to loss in Cleveland</h2><p>“We don’t really do moral victories. That’s a tough loss. It’s a good team,” Castle said following the setback to the squad with the best record in the Eastern Conference. “I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win. We could have won.”</p><p>“At the end of the day, I still want to win though,” the former Husky continued</p><p>In the absence of Wemby and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-deaaron-fox-stunning-reality-looming-surgery">star guard De’Aaron Fox</a>, both out with injuries, the Spurs led the Cavaliers for a good portion of the fourth quarter.</p><p>“With the line-ups we had, we were switching everything. We had a mismatch with the bigs,” Castle shared.</p><p>It doesn’t get any easier for the Spurs with their next five games coming against franchises that will make the postseason, including these same Cavs again to round out the stretch.</p><p>“That’s been the case all year. You have a bad game, you get the luxury of quick turnarounds. A break is always good, but we’ll be able to bounce back from a tough loss like this and it’s definitely a luxury for us,” Castle admitted.</p><p>They also present opportunities for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-revealing-take-tracking-rookie-year-race">Rookie of the Year favorite</a> to cement the award.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs’ Stephon Castle joins exclusive Tim Duncan club amid big rookie season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/why-foul-trouble-clouded-spurs-stephon-castles-success-luka-doncic-lakers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why foul trouble clouded Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s success vs. Luka Doncic, Lakers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Spurs-news-Why-foul-trouble-clouded-Stephon-Castle-s-success-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Why foul trouble clouded Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s success vs. Luka Doncic, Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-18T22:04:32-07:00">March 18th, 10:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T22:04:32-07:00">March 18th, 10:04pm</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Stephon Castle led the San Antonio Spurs in scoring <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/spurs-vs-lakers-prediction-odds-pick-spread-3-17-2025">against the Los Angeles Lakers</a> in their Monday night showdown.</p><p>It was the beginning of the game, though, playing against Luka Doncic that sticks out most to the standout rookie. Often assigned to guard the opponent’s best player, Castle drew the recently acquired Lakers superstar.</p><p>The result: the 20-year-old from UConn picked up three fouls in the span of 54 seconds in the first quarter.</p><p>Discussing his assignment against Doncic after the game, Castle <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxc6L6Xehz4" rel="noopener">admitted the situation was challenging</a>.</p><p>“I don’t really want to talk about the fouls, really,” Castle admitted. “It was a tough situation.”</p><p>The first two fouls came only three seconds apart as he checked one of the game’s best players.</p><p>“I thought the second one was tough. I thought there was no advantage gained,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “He jumped, he stopped and Steph was right there with his hands up. I was a little disappointed in that call.”</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-2024-nba-draft-grades-for-stephon-castle-timberwolves-trade">national champion with the Huskies</a> last year responded. Despite the early foul trouble, Devin Vassell was the only Spur who played significantly more. In 28 minutes, his 23 points were second only to the 30 by Lakers guard Austin Reaves.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Los-Angeles-Lakers-guard-Luka-Doncic-77-shoots-the-ball-against-the-San-Antonio-Spurs-with-Stephon-Castle-in-the-background-5-in-the-second-half-at-Crypto.com-Arena.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2>Stephon Castle weathers early foul trouble</h2><p>One of the Spurs’ top two perimeter defenders (along with Jeremy Sochan) and one of the best – if not, the best – rookie defenders in the NBA, Castle admitted the three first-quarter fouls affected him when he reentered the game.</p><p>“I was trying to play defense without fouling. At some point, it felt like I couldn’t really touch people, but I was just trying to make an impact on that end of the floor without putting them on the free-throw line,” Castle revealed.</p><p>“It’s up to me whether they call it or not because, obviously, it’s a foul or not. Yeah, that’s their judgment. It kind of got me off to a rough start to the game, but I was happy that I was able to come back in and try and impact.”</p><p>The Covington, Georgia native’s <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1901857158540538305" rel="noopener">19 shots were easily a team-high</a> vs. the Lakers. Three of his eight field goals came from beyond the arc, and his eight rebounds tied Vassell, who trailed him in shots and attempts. In Johnson’s opinion, this game was a learning experience for Castle, as he had to work through the struggles to learn how to play in the NBA.</p><p>“It’s hard for a younger player when they get in those spots – and the next one was just an incidental trip – to continue their aggressiveness because they’re not trying not to get the next foul,” Johnson added.</p><p>“I thought he did a better job of just playing. Just playing and not worrying about if he fouled out… Screw it. I don’t think we’ve had many guys foul out this year, so just need to continue to play through it.”</p><p>Averaging <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-revealing-take-tracking-rookie-year-race">almost 21 points per game in March</a>, Castle is scoring nearly 14 per night this season. He is also widely expected to win <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-teammates-sound-off-definite-rookie-of-the-year-chances">Rookie of the Year</a>.</p><p>“He’s a very, very advanced, elite cerebral basketball player, as we know,” Johnson concluded.</p><p>Pretty much everyone knows now by this point, and so does Castle; even when it doesn’t seem like it to begin the game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why foul trouble clouded Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s success vs. Luka Doncic, Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-revealing-take-tracking-rookie-year-race');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s revealing take on tracking Rookie of the Year race');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Spurs-news-Stephon-Castles-revealing-take-on-tracking-Rookie-of-the-Year-race.jpg"></figure><h1>Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s revealing take on tracking Rookie of the Year race</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-16T10:45:12-07:00">March 16th, 10:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-16T10:45:12-07:00">March 16th, 10:45am</time><address><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LedesmaHector">Hector Ledesma</a>Hector Ledesma has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, but he has been following them for even longer than that. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. His work extends online and through social media (@HectorLedesmaTV) where he continues that work with ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Seemingly, everyone around Stephon Castle is talking about the strength of his NBA Rookie of the Year caliber season. Some are from a distance, too. Several members of the San Antonio Spurs, including his acting head coach and one of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-stephon-castle-teammates-sound-off-definite-rookie-of-the-year-chances">team’s best players, leave little doubt about where they stand</a>.</p><p>During a recent Spurs home stand, Castle got the question.</p><p>“It’s hard not to look at it,” the first-year standout from UConn admitted.</p><p>He made sure to clarify, though.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say I’ve been shooting for it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Stephon Castle, asked by <a href="https://twitter.com/JMcDonald_SAEN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JMcDonald_SAEN</a> , if he pays attention to the Rookie of the Year race…</p><p>“It’s hard not to look at it. I wouldn’t say I’ve been shooting for it…”</p><p>Full answer ⬇️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Spurs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Spurs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoSpursGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoSpursGo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PorVida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PorVida</a> <a href="https://t.co/27iZjVdwue">pic.twitter.com/27iZjVdwue</a></p><p>— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/HectorLedesmaTV/status/1900906922871566593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It is typical of a San Antonio Spur to downplay the desire for an individual award. To have followed the 20-year-old guard through his first season in San Antonio is to also fully believe <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-stephon-castles-blunt-take-near-career-high-loss-thunder">the award is not his main focus</a>.</p><p>“You haven’t heard me really say anything about it all year. Going out there and playing, playing free. Just let things work out for themselves.”</p><h2>Stephon Castle continues to impress</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/San-Antonio-Spurs-guard-Stephon-Castle-5-drives-to-the-basket-against-New-Orleans-Pelicans-center-Mo-Bamba-4-during-the-second-half-at-Frost-Bank-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Since joining the Spurs as the fourth overall pick in this past summer’s draft, Castle has taken on a number of roles. But he’s always had a role. That’s rarely been the case for rookies through the last quarter century of the franchise’s history. Very few rooks have had an impact on the Spurs during that span. And those rookie campaigns led to legendary careers, or in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-immediate-reaction-to-winning-rookie-of-the-year">Victor Wembanyama’s case are on the way there</a>. Like <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/tim-duncan-reveals-which-of-his-spurs-hall-of-fame-teammates-hed-start-bench-and-cut" rel="noopener">Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili,</a> and Kawhi Leonard, Castle’s play is making the basketball world take notice.</p><p>The Covington, Georgia’s biggest adjustment has been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-stephon-castle-fires-back-bounce-back-game-idea-benching">whether he starts or contributes off the bench</a>. With newly acquired Spurs star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-deaaron-fox-stunning-reality-looming-surgery">De’Aaron Fox now out for the rest of the year</a>, Castle has been reinserted into the starting line-up.</p><p>“Adjust? Not really,” Castle, who’s started about half the games he’s played through a healthy season, said.</p><p>“Just playing free, no matter who’s on the court,” he continued on starting again. “I feel like the main thing is the communication on defense, the guys who we have on the court. Having CP [Chris Paul] out there, I feel like his communication on defense helps me a lot. Just trying to uphold that when he’s not in the game is probably the biggest thing for me.”</p><h2>Castle deals with rookie prank</h2><p>Directly following a recent loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Castle found <a href="https://x.com/overtime/status/1900033282315870520">himself at the center of a major prank</a>.</p><p>“I was just shook. I didn’t know what to expect when I saw everybody start gathering around. I’d rather that really anything else, like some popcorn or something. The smell would’ve still been in there.”</p><p>Instead, all four tires had been taken off his vehicle in a ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment.</p><p>“Yeah, they put the wheels back on it like five minutes later, so I wasn’t too mad at it,” he admitted.</p><p>Teammate Sandro Mamukelashvili had orchestrated the move. Castle has since revealed he has payback in mind. In the meantime, he doesn’t have any other pranks to report.</p><p>“Hopefully, there’s nothing new.”</p><p>Opposite of his game. where we have every reason to believe we’ll see continued huge development.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.3	3.4	3.8	0.3	0.9

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.3	3.4	3.8	0.3	0.9

Stephon Castle

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Spurs’ Stephon Castle’s revealing take on tracking Rookie of the Year race

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