Stephon Castle holds a major edge over early-Spurs Kawhi Leonard

Rising star Stephon Castle is in the midst of a breakout season for the San Antonio Spurs and already holds a major edge over former team star Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi isn't well loved by Spurs fans, but it's fair to acknowledge just how good he was early on with the team.

Still, Castle is better than Kawhi at this stage in their careers, especially offensively. Sure, Kawhi was a better defender but didn't really make a big offensive leap until year four and then made a massive leap in year five.

That was mainly due to the Spurs still having Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan, resulting in fewer offensive opportunities. To his credit, he used the years playing fourth string dramatically improving as a shooter, filling out his frame, and improving as a ballhandler.

Fortunately, Castle is further ahead of Kawhi as an offensive player, both as a scorer and passer.

Stephon Castle holds a major edge over early-Spurs Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi eventually became a great playmaker, but that mostly happened after leaving the Spurs. Castle, on the other hand, was the team's de facto point guard, even leading the team in assists per game last season.

His assist numbers are down this season due to the Spurs playing him alongside De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper. However, it's given him the ability to hone his 3-point shooting, drilling 36.6% from three on 8.2 3-point attempts per game.

That has resulted in him averaging 17.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.4 steals to start the 2026-27 season. Compare that to Kawhi, who averaged 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 steals to start his third season.

Castle still has a lot of season left to prove if those numbers will hold. However, he was clearly the more well-rounded offensive player if comparing both players' second seasons head-to-head.

If Castle can continue to shoot above league-average on high-volume, then he could make the leap to stardom in just a third season. Compare that to Kawhi, who didn't become an All-Star until his fifth year in the NBA.

Stephon Castle may follow a different path than Kawhi Leonard

Castle being potentially a couple of years ahead of Kawhi in his development will hopefully result in him being as good in a Spurs uniform. Still, they are very different players—and hopefully, with very different uncles.

Kawhi was primarily an off-ball threat, who focused primarily on defense, until he assumed a much larger role in his fifth season. Castle, who was the fourth overall pick in 2024, was given more opportunity right out the gate and has benefited from being featured more playing both on and off the ball.

The end result could be Castle eventually becoming an elite two-way wing who can score, shoot, pass, and defend. Based on where he is in his career, compared to former Spur Leonard, he is certainly on a similar trajectory, perhaps even higher.

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