Controversial Stephon Castle ranking paints ugly picture of expectations

ESPN has been dropping their top 100 rankings for the upcoming 2025-26 season. They're meant to be projections, so this isn't strictly based on what the players did last year. Stephon Castle came in at 99, and at first, I wasn't sure how much I cared until I looked at the rest of the list. They polled 150 reporters, editors, producers, and analysts to come up with it, too. That's a lot of wrong people.

Frankly, it gives Castle a chance to prove his doubters wrong, but it certainly paints a clear picture of uncertainty around the former UConn star. He's coming off a successful Rookie of the Year campaign and is projected to start on a team expected to take a leap, but it doesn't seem like they're counting on him being a large part of that growth.

Castle will have every chance to prove critics wrong

Just looking at the names in the graphic above should have you scratching your head. I'm a Naz Reid fan, so I'm not going to slander his name, but he did take a step back last season. His efficiency was down from three. It was down overall. He was still a solid defender, but he also came off the bench. That will continue.

Jonathan Kuminga regressed in just about every stat last season, and he's about to start this year on a team he has no desire to be on. Unhappy players rarely produce to their fullest potential. He has all the talent in the world and good size to be great, but he's in the 'wait-and-see' section for me.

Castle will impact the game more often with the ball in his hands, with more minutes, and he has more room to grow in his role. Bradley Beal can be argued. He's a terrible defender, no matter what Ty Lue tries to convince you of, but he can catch fire offensively in a way that few can.

Listen, man, I love watching Payton Pritchard rain threes and get busy as much as the next guy, but let's be serious. He's never been a starter, and Castle nearly matched his raw numbers as a rookie. Let's just leave it at that.

There are other players Steph should rank over, but we'd be here all day. The good news is that the season starts in less than a month. His quest to prove himself right and others wrong will begin soon. It'll be a fun journey, and Spurs fans get front-row seats to the action.