Spurs stance on Stephon Castle will shock even the biggest fans

Before the NBA season started, Stephon Castle's place in the Spurs backcourt moving forward was a little cloudly. Yes, he was coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign, but the Spurs had De'Aaron Fox heading into his first full Spurs season and 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper entering the mix. Questions of how Castle would fit longterm with an All-Star caliber player and a rookie with clear All-Star upside were starting to get a bit louder.

They've been silenced so far this season. Almost two months in, Castle has been so good that it seems silly anyone ever questioned his standing. No one here did, of course. I know you would never do that, dear reader, and the author of this piece surely never did, either. I digress.

From the start, the Spurs believed in Castle as a cornerstone. Maybe even more than even the most optimistic Spurs fans did. Says Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective podcast:

"They believed from day one that they had scored huge in the draft with Castle... To the point where they were almost as excited about Castle as they were about having Victor..."

Is that hyperbolic? Probably a tad. I'm sure every team thinks they just drafted the franchise savior in the minutes after Adam Silver announces their name. But it does seem like the Spurs have always loved Castle, and his emergence this year — both with Victor Wembanyama and without him — has proven this front office correct once more.

Spurs see Stephon Castle as a franchise pillar

And can you blame them? Castle was drafted as a swiss army knife-type player, a guy who theoretically could be a positive in every aspect of basketball, and he's becoming that player in what feels like record time.

He's not just doing nice things in a complementary role, either. On Wednesday in the NBA Cup quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Castle scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished six assists as Wemby continued to be sidelined. Two days prior, also without Wemby, he posted 18 / 5 / 5. These are not the statlines of a player you like to have — Castle looks more like the player who you build a roster around.

Knowing that he's not that in San Antonio, and that a player as massively talented (and already productive) as he is will eventually be able to be a supercharged No. 2 option is a scary prospect for other NBA teams. There's no delusion in the Spurs front office; their excitement is warranted.