Stephon Castle continues to make San Antonio proud on epic All-Star night

Stephon Castle kicked off the 2025 All-Star weekend on a high note. On Friday night, Castle lit up the Castrol Rising Stars tournament, scoring 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in the two tournament games.

Castle showed great poise and dominance throughout the tournament on both ends, looking smooth while directing an offense. He made the proper passes, took quality shots, and wanted the ball in his hands during crucial moments.

The former UConn Husky showcased his late-game heroics by hitting the game-winning 18-footer in game one to advance to the championship round of the tournament. Castle and his Team C teammates would secure the championship with a win against Team G-League in the next round.

For his efforts, Castle was named the tournament MVP. Team C will now be the fourth team in Sunday evening's All-Star Game Tournament after their victory.

The next day, Castle prepared for his second event of the weekend: the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest. Castle entered the contest as a heavy underdog, with odds of +600 across all major sportsbooks. He ended up much closer to a win than that and his loss came with a bit of controversy.

Castle goes above the rim making a statement in a big way

Coming into the night, the Spurs as a team did not get off to the best start. During a moment that was supposed to put San Antonio back on the map in terms of All-Star weekend relevancy, Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama made a clever, though costly mistake in the Kia Skills Challenge.

Regardless of how you feel about Wemby's Eddie Guerrero-like "Lie, Cheat, and Steal" type of antics, not getting a true performance from CP3 and Wemby stung just a bit. It was up to Castle to perform well in the Dunk Contest to save the Spurs Family after that.

Being the first dunker of the night, Castle had perhaps the hardest task of them all. The first dunk typically sets the tone for the rest of the contest, so whatever Castle had in mind, it had to connect in a big way.

Castle would drive from the right side into one of the smoothest 360 windmill dunks you would ever see. The perfect twist and cupping of the ball made this dunk look that much better. This tremendous first act earned Castle a 47.4 from the judges.

After round one, Castle would be in second place just behind the defending champion Mac McClung, who made jumping over the side of a KIA Sports car look easy on his first dunk. You can tell that McClung was trying to make his presence felt early on.

The second time around, Matas Buzelis and Andre Jackson Jr. bounced back after a poor first set of dunks to get closer to Castle in that second spot. Still, Castle outshined the two, getting major hangtime on a reverse windmill off the glass and nearly getting eye-to-eye to the rim on his second dunk.

For this action, Castle would score 47.8, which seemed too low for how easy he made it look. Castle would advance to the next round to face McClung for the dunk crown.

The future superstar thrives on pressure, so facing the ex-champion was seemingly nothing to him. In act three, Castle proves that he is a championship dunker. Though it took three attempts, Castle had an insane under-the-basket and through-the-legs slam.

Oddly enough, not all judges gave the Spur a perfect score, so he was given a 49.6 overall for dunk three. McClung followed this with one of the rarest dunks you will ever see, jumping over a passer (while on a hoverboard) and dunking not one but two basketballs. How can you beat that?! But being the gladiator that he is, Castle still went out in round four intending to win.

In the final round, Castle had his best dunk of the night, gliding for a 180 behind the back with his off-hand dunk to receive a perfect score and give McClung all he could handle in the last round.

Ultimately, McClung would win his third dunk contest after another never-before-seen dunk. The reigning Dunk Contest winner effortlessly catapulted over Cavaliers Evan Mobley and tapped the ball on the rim in mid-air before slamming it down to erupt the Bay Area crowd. McClung's four straight 50-point dunks are no match for any opponent.

Win or lose, Castle's beloved Spurs fans will crown him a champion in their hearts. Heck, even ex-Spur great Manu Ginobili had a little bit to say about Castle's heroics, opening up the conversion to fans on X right after all the theatrics.

This was a massive night for Stephon, regardless of the outcome. After an outstanding first night in the Rising Stars game, coming back and nearly knocking off McClung in the Dunk Contest is huge for the rookie of the year favorite.

Better yet, Castle still has Sunday night's All-Star Game tournament to look toward. After having a hand in each day's events, Castle became the first NBA player since Blake Griffin in 2011 to participate in three events on All-Star weekend. Stephon Castle could eventually become a regular in the mid-season festivities.