Special career night places Castle on short list of all-time Spurs greats

Stephon Castle is padding his stats for Rookie of the Year at this point because there's no question that he's winning it. No matter how many Hawks and Wizards fans shake their fists and pound their tables about Zaccharie Risacher or Alex Sarr, the race is already over. Everything Castle does at this point is frosting on an already delightful cake.

Last night, San Antonio's rookie faced one of the toughest tests of the season in a matchup against the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland had to fight hard for that win, and while the Spurs showed up as a team, Steph stood out once again for his fearlessness and production.

He ended the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and a steal. There have only been three other players in San Antonio's history who have put up similar numbers. I think you'll be familiar with them.

Castle is one of Spurs greatest draft picks of all time

Steph's entire career will be the true determining factor of how great that pick was, but so far, he's been sensational. It wasn't his most efficient night, but young players are expected to struggle in that area early in their careers, especially from the guard position. If your best argument against #5 is that he's not very efficient, you've already lost the battle.

When you look at the names above, you see two Hall of Fame players and one that 100% will be as long as he's healthy enough to have a long career. When Wembanyama had his first 20, 10, and five performance, it was against Sacramento, and the Alien put up 34 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and three blocks. He did it in the 11th game of his career last season. Extra-terrestrial, indeed.

Tim Duncan is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and the most highly regarded player in SA's history. He had his first 20/10/5 game 25 games in against the rival Houston Rockets, who he routinely owned throughout his career. His stat line that night was for 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Every number was right on the money in a 100-83 Spurs win.

David Robinson put up so many ridiculous numbers he should be discussed more than he has been. His versatility, combined with his size and athleticism, allowed him to do things on the court rarely achieved since. This is the man who has the NBA's last quadruple-double, for God's sake.

In the 37th game of his career, against the Washington Bullets, he dropped 28 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and three blocks on San Antonio's way to a 124-115 victory.

These are the players that Stephon Castle has just joined with his performance last night, and he still wasn't satisfied. After the game, Spurs reporter Tom Orsborn shared an impressive quote from last year's NCAA champion, "At the end of the day, I still want a win though. We don't really do moral victories, so it's a tough loss. It's a good team, but I feel like we gave ourself a chance to win. We could have won."

It's been an adversity-filled season, but the Spurs should feel great about that number four overall draft pick. He's been spectacular, and he's only going to get better.