The San Antonio Spurs had long been linked to Stephon Castle before picking him on Wednesday with the fourth overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.
With a clear need in their backcourt, Castle now becomes the lead guard for the Spurs. His two-way play and ability to create shooting opportunities for others on the wing will open up the floor tremendously for Victor Wembanyama. It seems like Wemby is aware of what Castle could do for him and the Spurs offense as a whole, based on the message he had for Castle after he was drafted.
In a nice gesture, Wemby got on a FaceTime call with Castle to welcome him to the Spurs and let him know how excited he is to have him on the team.
Of course, Wembanyama remembers what it's like to be in the green room on draft day, it was just last year that he was taken no. 1 overall by the Spurs.
Wembanyama is a perfect centerpiece for the Spurs to build around. The offensive skillset is already blossoming – with ample room to improve – and he's arguably already the most impactful defender in the league.
In earning 2023-2024 NBA All-Defensive First Team honors, the Spurs' generational talent became the youngest player to make First Team All-Defense.
Wemby, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, averaged a league-leading 3.58 blocks and 1.24 steals to go along with 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in 29.7 minutes. He led the NBA in blocks with 254 for the season, recording a league-best 10.01 block percentage—the highest of any player since Manute Bol's mark with the Washington Bullets in 1985-86.
He’s the first rookie to lead the NBA in blocked shots since Bol and the first rookie to average three or more blocks since Dallas Mavericks center Shawn Bradley in 1993-94.
Spurs found their guard of the future with Stephon Castle
The Spurs have been looking for a guard to pair with Wembanyama essentially from the moment the season ended. Drafting Stephon Castle gives the team their potential outside threat for the next decade.
The team has been linked to veteran guards such as Chris Paul and Darius Garland this offseason. While the team won't be able to land Garland most likely now that the draft is done, Paul would be an interesting option on a short-term deal to teach Castle the ropes. CP3 isn't the player he once was, but could be valuable on a low cost one-year deal. The Warriors are interested in bringing him back, but the team is deep into the luxury tax and would potentially pay a heavy premium for what is essentially a backup guard.
But Castle shouldn't take too long to acclimate to the NBA game. If the Spurs are right, they've found their guy to pair with Wembanyama and start the climb into contention.
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