As good as Stephon Castle's first NBA season proved, he won Rookie of the Year honors with several deficiencies. He'll be the first to tell you that. In fact, Castle did just that as the San Antonio Spurs were about to start training camp ahead of their preseason.

“I would say making reads, being a lot more efficient. I would say quicker reads,” is how the 20-year-old combo guard responded when asked what specific areas of his game he worked on during the summer.

“A lot of on-ball shot reps. You know, when guys go under screens, guys go over screens,” the former UConn Husky added.

Castle's Achilles Heel offensively last year came through his jump shot. He finished with a field-goal percentage of 43%, including just 28.5% from beyond the arc. Yes, work on his stroke will help fix that issue. But so will another aspect Castle focused on.

“Finding spots that I could get to that I'm comfortable with.”

“And then, just sharpening up parts of my game that I already would consider strengths,” he continued. “Staying in the gym as much as possible, keeping my conditioning up, just the little things are going to carry me through this year.

That Castle took a bit to answer if there were certain skills on which he focused as he looks forward is music to Spurs' fans ears. It's also not surprising.

Stephon Castle looks for better sophomore season

The former national champion with the Huskies gave the Spurs a second straight Rookie of the Year. And while the honor is his forever, he doesn't know exactly know where the trophy is.

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“My mom took it back home. Yeah, I don't know where it's at now. Safekeeping, I guess? Yeah, it's safe though, for sure.”

Castle never shied away from leaning into his potential throughout a rookie season that started with high expectations. From the moment he went fourth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, there was thought he might be the ROY favorite. The 6-foot-6 guard continued to improve as the season went along to the point that the award was his to lose heading into last year's stretch run.

“I'm happy that I can kind of get that off my chest now. I mean, it's like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Castle said this October regarding earning Rookie of the Year.

His attention turns to team success, which has eluded a franchise that won five NBA championships in 16 years spanning the turn of the century.

“To have a winning season,” is how Castle answered his goal for this season.

“Now I can primarily focus on team accolades. One of our goals this year is to make the playoffs, so I feel like that will be a success in a year or two for me.”

It's a common theme for a Spurs roster full of very young, talented pieces. Hardly any of them are younger or off to a better start than Castle.