Stephon Castle Is Rookie Of The Year
Reacting to Stephon Castle winning rookie of the year.
During last night’s broadcast, TNT’s Ernie Johnson announced that San Antonio Spurs’ Stephon Castle has won the KIA NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Castle now joins David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Victor Wembanyama as the fourth Spur to earn the honor. With this win, the Spurs become just the second team in the last 50 years to secure Rookie of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. The last team to do it? The Minnesota Timberwolves, with Andrew Wiggins in 2015 and Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016.
Castle started the season as an underdog but flipped the narrative by the Christmas Day game in New York City. As injuries took a toll on the Spurs, Castle stepped up and became a leading scorer for large stretches of the season. Let’s take a look at some of the reactions to this well-deserved announcement.
Rookie of the Year!
The Spurs’ social media team dropped an incredible tribute video celebrating Castle’s win.
The Castle family was joined by Victor Wembanyama and several members of the coaching staff as they watched the award announcement together.
Spurs' own Jacob Tobey caught up with Castle after the news broke.
Jacob Tobey and Stephon Castle Link
You’ve got to admire the confidence—Castle said he felt like he had won the award a long time ago. Spurs fans have a lot to be excited about. This young man seems destined for greatness.
A Word from His Peers
The 2024–25 rookie class was widely considered one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory. But from what we’ve seen, Castle is a breakout star at the 4th pick—leaps and bounds ahead of his fellow rookies. In today’s era of NBA player podcasts, we get real-time insight into what players think of each other. Here’s what four-time NBA champion Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors had to say about the new Rookie of the Year.
Draymond Green on Stephon Castle ROY
A Star in the Making
As a rookie, Castle led his Rising Stars team during All-Star Weekend and even made a splash in the Dunk Contest. Already earning the reputation of a quiet leader, Castle brings the kind of no-nonsense, all-business attitude the Spurs thrive on. He’s hired a private shooting coach, and his offensive game noticeably improved as the season progressed. Defensively, Castle is quickly becoming a cornerstone of the Spurs' identity.
Looking ahead, it’s not far-fetched to imagine Castle and Wembanyama becoming household names—much like Tim and Pop, or even Kobe and Shaq. Don’t be surprised if they both end up on All-Defensive teams and in All-Star Games in the same season.
And here are some more highlights to enjoy.
What are your favorite Stephon Castle rookie moments? Let us know in the comments below.
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