Stephon Castle will make his first All-NBA team if bold ESPN prediction comes true

ESPN's Summer Forecast dropped, and they have Stephon Castle winning Most Improved Player of 2026-27. That seems a little crazy to me, considering how talented the Spurs' explosive playmaker already is.

Winning MIP would require a substantial jump from an already impressive second season. That would put him in All-NBA territory. The easiest path to get there for him would be his shooting—he already does so many other things at a high level.

Good thing that's something he's been working hard on.

Castle already has almost everything an All-NBA guard needs

San Antonio's third-year rising star is one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the league. He moves well laterally, fights over screens, and plays with great physicality. It wears on guys, no matter what their status is—just ask Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

His 17 points and 7 assists per game serve as proof that he can score in this league and run an offense. The latter just needs to improve by way of reduced turnovers. That's the other piece of the puzzle mentioned in ESPN's forecast. Castle must "correct the miscues," and that's hard to argue with.

Averaging slightly over three turnovers a game is too much. But that's a correctable issue, and that's no reason to believe he won't fix it. That could come as soon as this year, and hopefully, with it, improved shooting ability.

A major shooting leap could change everything for Castle

“It’s been a lot of shooting... It’s been a lot of shooting focus, pace focus, shot-line pocket focus, off-the-dribble," basketball trainer Olin Simplis told an interviewer about what he's been helping Stephon Castle with this offseason.

Castle only shot 33% from three-point range last season, but that's a significant improvement from the 29% the previous year. If he continues his trajectory and elevates himself to a slightly above-average shooter, it completely changes how defenses have to defend him.

Right now, defenders will go under screens, desperate to keep a wrecking ball like Steph out of the lane. To his credit, he finds ways into the paint regardless and makes opponents pay, but the game will come much easier to him once he can rely on his jump shot, since he can make defenders wrong no matter how they choose to guard him.

Castle put the world on notice during the 2026 NBA Playoffs. He had several standout performances and played without fear in a pressure-packed spot. That undoubtedly earned him some more fans. If he wants to earn the MIP award next, he'll need to take strides in the weakest parts of his game, but be careful what you wish for. That would mean San Antonio has another incredibly elite core piece.

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