Stephon Castle Summer League grade after injury ends run prematurely

Stephon Castle was on a tear to start the 2K25 Summer League. It's unfortunate to see it end due to injury. This is also a 'two things can be true' situation, though, because, let's be honest, there's only so much we need to see from a top prospect in the Summer League. Ideally, Coach Popovich would have seen enough and pulled him from the team, similar to how they operated with Victor Wembanyama last year.

Instead, he'll have some rehabbing to do, but the wrist sprain appears to be minor based on the reporting from journalists close to the team. The Spurs are just being cautious with their lottery pick, as they should be. He put enough on display through the three games he played in, and now we'll grade his performance.

Stephon Castle will contribute to the Spurs immediately

Castle averaged 17 points, 5.7 rebounds, four assists and a steal per game before the Spurs pulled the plug. He also averaged 2.3 turnovers—the caveat being that he had zero in one of the three games while committing five turnovers in another. Steph finished the third contest with only one, making the five-turnover game feel like an outlier. You care less about those gaffs when you realize they happened in his best performance of the summer.

In his final game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the UConn alumni controlled the game from start to finish. If he was on the floor, you felt his presence. He contributed in every way imaginable, minus coming up with a block, but sans a rejection, he stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

He didn't shoot a great percentage but rookies are not known for their efficiency. There's no need to put a lot of stock in that. If you go through the stats of all the Summer League players, most of the rookies will struggle with field goal percentage. He did not let that deter him. He was confident from start to finish and took the shots he felt were available for him without hesitation.

His strength is his biggest asset and he used it well. He averaged almost six rebounds per contest, and two of those were offensive rebounds. He's only able to make that impact because he is close to the basket due to his aggressiveness. But you won't mistake his determination for hastiness; he played at his own pace from game one and remained even-keeled throughout.

Playing alongside Chris Paul and Tre Jones will allow him to come in playing a role similar to what he played at UConn. They'll likely give him chances to run the point in spurts to bring him along gradually. It's a perfect situation for Castle. His Summer League performance, while taken with a grain of salt, still must be recognized. He led the Spurs to two out of three wins, improving in each game. It's hard to find many faults in his play, and I won't look for ghosts that aren't there.

Grade A