Stephon Castle building undeniable Rookie of the Year case during final weeks

With less than twenty games to go in the regular season, there's very little for San Antonio Spurs fans to get excited about. The team is lottery-bound (again) and regularly leaves fans pulling their hair out with their inability to close out games. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to fast-forward to the bouncing of lottery balls to see where the Spurs - and the Atlanta Hawks - draft picks might end up.

If you need one thing to hold your attention through the end of the season, let the standout play of Stephon Castle be that reason. The Spurs rookie guard has been on an absolute tear over the past few weeks, putting his name firmly at the top of the list for Rookie of the Year.

It puts the Spurs on pace to be the first team to have back-to-back ROTY winners since the Minnesota Timberwolves did it with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns almost a decade ago.

Several other rookies will obviously be in consideration. Zaccharie Risacher has been living up to the Hawks' expectations, Kel’el Ware has been outperforming his and has been flashing some, dare I say, Wembanyama-like moments, and the Memphis Grizzlies continue to rely heavily on the play of Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey. But for as good as they've all been, the award should still end up in Castle's hands when all is said and done.

Stephon Castle's recent stretch proves why he's the Rookie of the Year

Following back-to-back sub-par showings in New Orleans, Castle has taken his game to another level over the last seven matches. He's averaged 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game over that stretch, coming off the bench in every contest. The highlight of this run was a 32-point outing against the best in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

One thing to note about Steph's incredible stretch of play is how he's actively breaking through the metaphorical "rookie wall" that so many other rookies struggle with. Consider that most rookies are coming from college basketball, where they're playing somewhere between 30 to 40 games, depending on how far their team might make it in the NCAA tournament.

Castle maxed out at 40 games last season as his UConn Huskies made another championship run. After that 40 game mark, we've historically seen rookies taper off as attrition due to the expanded NBA schedule & travel takes its toll. Far from letting that wall stop his rise, Castle is breaking through it like the Juggernaut from the X-Men movies.

Steph put it all on display against the Thunder, showing everything in his bag and then some in a tough loss. He was taking and making his threes, finishing through contact; his impressive deceleration and change of direction—veteran traits that are already hallmarks of his game—were fully on display. He threw in some acrobatics for show.

To be fair to the rest of the competition, a seven-game stretch shouldn't necessarily make or break anyone's Rookie of the Year candidacy. But Castle should be recognized for stepping up when the Spurs needed him most. He's one of San Antonio's most important players going forward. He might already be their second-best behind Victor Wembanyama.

This impressive run has certainly added fuel to the fire for Castle's ROTY case, but he's been ahead of the pack for most of the season. He leads all rookies in points and steals, ranks third in assists, and is second in rebounds among rookie guards. He has two thirty-point games to his name and scored twenty or more 17 times this season. Everything about him screams Rookie of the Year.

San Antonio could help Castle solidify the ROY award

One change the Spurs could make to help lock up the award in Castle's name would be to insert him into the starting lineup in place of Chris Paul. It's a change that fans have been clamoring for weeks now, but really, what difference would it make?

Sure, Paul starts the game, but over the last ten games, both he and Steph have been averaging around 25 minutes per game. I care less about who starts the game and more about who's on the court when things get tight, and in that regard, Steph takes the lead, averaging 3.5 clutch minutes per game over the last 10 games to Paul's 1.3.

Castle's development and Rookie of the Year candidacy shouldn't hinge on how many games he starts. Do the right thing and continue to give the veteran Paul his starting honor.

Starter or not, Stephon Castle should be the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year. He has the stats, he looks the part, and he's got the swagger. This is only the beginning for the Spurs' young star.