Spurs’ Stephon Castle joins Spurs legends with impressive feat against Lakers in NBA Cup
Move over, Tim Duncan and Victor Vembanayama. Make some room for Stephen Castle. The reigning Rookie of the Year joins the greatest forward ever and a player who could go down as one of the absolute greats in San Antonio Spurs win 132-119 against Los Angeles Lakers in the quarterfinals NBA Cup.
Castle became just the third player in franchise history to have 30+ points, 10+ rebounds and five or more assists in a game by the age of 21.
The former UConn star posted career-highs of 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the organization’s first trip to the knockout round of the league tournament in the season.
Stephon Castle’s performance against the Lakers continues his stellar season
The 21-year-old’s remarkable night came in just his second game back after missing three weeks with what Spurs labeled a left hip flexor strain. He played well in a win against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 8 with 18 points, five assists and five rebounds. And he put up those numbers in just 23 minutes upon return.
He played just four more minutes against the Lakers in putting up the aforementioned numbers en route to 10/14 shooting from the field.
For the season, Castle averaged 17.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds while shooting 48% from the floor in 31 minutes per game. All those numbers are significantly higher than last season when he won hardware as the NBA’s first-year player of the year. Then he averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and shot 43% in 27 minutes of action. A reserve for most of last year, Castle started as the season wore on and the Spurs were decimated by injuries. This season, he is in the starting line-up from the very beginning.
With Spurs linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculationor Castle or newcomer Dylan Harper appears to be the player the Milwaukee Bucks would most likely target as the centerpiece of a possible package. Reports indicate San Antonio considered both untouchables.
Consistent performances like the one he put up against the Lakers show why it’s not hard to see why.
2025-12-11 12:40:00
