How Stephon Castle Makes Victor Wembanyama Thankful ‘Every Game’

As as good as Stephon Castle was in his first NBA seasonwhich earned him Rookie of the Year honors, he was better this season. That’s something San Antonio Spurs superstar teammate Victor Vembanyama realizes daily.

“That’s his value. That he can shut guys down,” Wemby continued to follow him 111-99 win against the Houston Rockets in which Castle guarded the Rockets’ best players while padding the stats offensively.

“To have a guy that good on both ends of the floor is just amazing. Every game, I’m so glad we got him in the draft. It’s amazing,” added the generational talent.

“That’s its value…

It’s just amazing

Every game I’m so glad that we got him in the draft…” ⬇

-Victor Wembanyama in the Stephon trap after Steph had 16, 6(a), 5(r), 2 steals while guarding Durant and Sengun in the 4th to make it 111-99 #Spurs victory in Houston#PorVida #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/paLmKokL51

— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) January 29, 2026

The Spurs’ second-year guard had 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals as he was tasked with defending Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun in the fourth quarter, which proved to be the difference.

Stephon Castle opens up about defense

Durant and Sengun are both 6-foot-11. Castle is 6-foot-6, but the Spurs’ best defender has handled both. Although they share the same height, Durant’s and Sengun’s offensive games don’t mirror each other. It didn’t matter to Georgia’s Covington, who bothered Durant on the wing and top, and Sengun near the paint.

“I’m trying to hang my hat on that end, so whatever challenges the coaches give me on that end, I accept,” the former UConn star said. “I thought we did a great job, the team on defense. Those guys, you can’t guard them, really, one-on-one. We had great communication behind me when I was guarding those guys, so I was able to get some stops in the fourth.”

“That’s always the goal,” Vembanyama added. “But how many points did we score in the fourth?” he asked.

When told it was 13, the 7-foot-5 center continued.

“They’re never going to finish with 52 points,” Wemby said of the Rockets’ second-half scoring, “but the goal is to get closer and closer to that. And also, to lower their best scores.”

for his part, Castle sees his defensive effort as a major aspect of his job.

The castle and Vembanjama delineate the focus

Just a week earlier, the Spurs had blown a 16-point lead and lost a game in Houston. Vembanjama attributes the difference this time to his team’s focus.

“Sure. The goal is to have this level of commitment every night.”

That aforementioned loss to the Rockets was one of four Spurs losses in their last nine games.

“I feel like if we do those things, the little things, we’re going to win most of the games we play,” Castle said of recent efforts against their in-state rivals.

“And the games we lose, we understand why,” the Spurs star continued. “We don’t come out of games confused about why we lost. We know exactly why. So fixing those things, it feels good when you do it the right way and win.”