Victor Wembanyama's ideal backcourt partner is the last one fans expected

Stephon Castle is the forgotten man in the public eye for the San Antonio Spurs. While many people are excited for the Victor Wembanyama + De'Aaron Fox duo, and eventually the Wembanyama + Dylan Harper duo, the Wemby + Castle duo didn't get much buzz in the offseason, even after a Rookie of the Year campaign for the former UConn Huskies star. But what if that pair ends up being the most effective of the bunch?

In the first two games of the season, the second-year point guard and third-year center looked like a domineering defensive duo; in the opener, they shut down whoever tried to score on them (Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis were two of the many victims) and they were going to enjoy it, too. Castle picked Flagg's pocket a few times, Wembanyama swatted AD (and made his life miserable on the other end, too).

So while Castle isn't the most impactful outside scorer (yet), his defensive tenacity and playmaking upside do make him an intriguing partner with Wemby. Tim MacMahon of ESPN said the two might already be, "The best defensive duo in the league..." and it's hard to argue with that. If they don't already have that title, it feels more like a matter of time than a question of if. Wemby is the best interior defender in basketball, and Castle is going to wrench himself into the All-Defense conversation this year, and every year after.

Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama are a unique type of duo

There are numerous great guard-center combos in the NBA right now. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.

But Castle and Wembanyama have a higher combined defensive upside than any of those duos do (although SGA and Chet would have the best argument out of the bunch). So even if Castle never becomes the No. 2 scoring option next to Wemby, he can still be the star point guard on this Spurs team because the defense is going to be just that good. He's a game-wrecker already.

De'Aaron Fox is already very good and Dylan Harper is a near-lock to be a dang good player, too. But Wembanyama and Castle might be the unique guard / big duo that lifts the Spurs in the coming years.