Spurs need to provide guardrails for Stephon Castle's leap to two-way stardom

What if being a superstar on both ends of the floor isn't all that it's made out to be? Of course NBA teams want their guards and wings to follow the standard set by all-time greats such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but in an era with an unprecedented combination of pace and space, it may not be quite as attainable as advertised—if it ever truly was.

In the curious case of Stephon Castle, that poses a necessary question: Do the San Antonio Spurs even need him to become an offensive superstar from a volume perspective?

Yes, Castle being able to score upward of 25 points per game would be an invaluable development. He's already one of the best defensive players and playmakers in the NBA, and rounding his efforts out with high-volume scoring would put him in MVP conversations.

In saying that, the Spurs aren't built in a way that necessarily requires Castle to become that type of player—and the value he provides on defense is too great to potentially lose.

Video games may suggest otherwise, but NBA players are humans with limits. Going out and defending an opposing teams' best perimeter scorer for roughly 30 minutes and then still finding the energy to run the offense as a playmaker is enough to test anyone—and adding elite scoring would be an even greater challenge.

Thankfully, the Spurs have the personnel to ensure that Castle's evolution focuses more on maximizing possessions and situational dominance rather than a heliocentric role.

Spurs must avoid temptation to make Stephon Castle a heliocentric star

Heliocentric players such as LaMelo Ball, Luka Doncic, and James Harden take defensive liberties that Castle simply hasn't taken at the high school, college, or NBA levels. With this in mind, the habits, tendencies, and overall mentality that Castle has is inherently different from that trio and others who fit that bill.

Castle's growth into a high-level scorer, however, would seemingly put him into that same category of players who can do a bit of everything on offense—and the Spurs must learn from the mistakes that said players' teams made with them.

Running an offense through a star player can yield great results relative to their talent, but that doesn't make it the optimal approach. Defenses know who to hone in on, talented shot creators struggle to develop a rhythm in their ill-fitting role as primarily off-ball players, and the star at the heart of the system carries an unfathomable burden as a shot creator and playmaker.

Castle may very well have the potential to check elite boxes on offense, but that doesn't mean the Spurs should use him like Ball, Doncic, and Harden have been used.

Spurs can't let Stephon Castle's offensive workload offset elite defense

For one, Castle is one of three high-level scorers and playmakers the Spurs have at guard, along with De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper. That alone should make it easier to take the ball out of his hands. They also have a true superstar in Victor Wembanyama and high-level supporting scorers in Tobias Harris, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell.

With this in mind, the Spurs should focus on how they can maximize Castle's skill set and impact through designed plays and situational tactics rather than simply putting the ball in his hands and trusting the process.

Castle's defense is simply too valuable to potentially suffer because of an offensive workload that saps his energy and detracts from his most essential contribution. He routinely takes on opposing teams' best perimeter player and offers invaluably elite quality as an isolation defender.

According to Basketball Index, Castle ranked No. 1 in the NBA in ball screen navigation and No. 2 in perimeter isolation defense in 2025-26. He also ranked No. 4 in matchup difficulty as a defender.

Losing even a shred of that defensive quality would make the Spurs an inherently different team. Yes, they can find balance, but having a combination of arguably the best guard defender in the NBA in Castle and the best rim protector in the world in Wembanyama is essential to their success as a team.

Helping Castle evolve on offense and increasing his touches and responsibilities accordingly will be a necessary next step, but the Spurs must ensure they don't overload him and offset his defensive brilliance.

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