The San Antonio Spurs have been great with their draft picks over the last few years. That would even be an understatement, considering they got Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and, the following year, picked up Stephon Castle, a player who has evolved into a crucial piece in the Spurs’ quest for glory.
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From one first-round pick to another, Wembanyama praised Castle after the team’s victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. He first admitted that De’Aaron Fox, who was traded to the Spurs from the Sacramento Kings in 2025, has “greatly” played a role in Castle’s development and went on to talk about the young man’s impact.
Wembanyama, the face of the franchise and potentially the league, feels that Castle is an elite playmaker, someone who has the ability to facilitate offense. To explain his point, he shed light on one of Castle’s plays from the Hornets game.
“There was one pass from tonight which didn’t finish in the bucket,” the Frenchman began. “Steph had to drive to the bucket, curve around, pass to Keldon [Johnson]. These kinds of things, you can’t really teach, and he just does it at such a high level and so regularly.”
Castle, in the 2025-26 season, is averaging 16.6 points and 7 assists per game, a jump from his rookie season, which he finished averaging 14.7 points and 4.1 assists per game. He also won the Rookie of the Year award and led all rookies in total points and steals.
So, you’d have to think he was the biggest prospect according to teams in the Draft, right? As it turns out, no.
Castle was selected #4 in the 2024 Draft. Ahead of him were Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, and Reed Sheppard and it’s safe to say that Castle, up until now, has outshined all of them. Wembanyama feels that the 21 year old deserved to be #1, of course, but admitted to being glad he wasn’t.
“He 100% deserved to be the #1 pick, but I’m so glad he wasn’t,” Wembanyama concluded.
