LAS VEGAS — His UConn teammate Donovan Clingan knew what the Spurs were about to get — he and Stephon Castle just won a national championship together.
“He’s a special player,” Clingan said. “He can facilitate at a high level. He can pass at a high level. He can certainly score. He’s got a great career ahead of him.”
All of that — plus his solid defense — was on display in Castle’s first Summer League game in Las Vegas. While Summer League performances can be fool’s gold, Castle showed the potential to be the kind of two-way star every team is chasing — the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown/Paul George/Mikal Bridges/Jrue Holiday mold of player.
The kind of player the Spurs need next to Victor Wembanyama if they are going to win rings in the coming years.
No. 4 pick Stephon Castle continues to impress with a solid Vegas debut to lead the @spurs to victory!
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2024
22 PTS | 5 REB | 4 AST | 2 3PM pic.twitter.com/BgkndgWtGD
He did a little bit of everything on Saturday night, often as the point guard. His strength is his defense and he looked good on that end of the court (as much as any player looks good on defense in the chaotic games of Summer League). More importantly, he showed off his offense, scoring 16 points, knocking down a couple of threes, making a floater in the lane over Clingan (although Clingan blocked him on a later drive), and his court vision to find the open man on drives was impressive.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself that way and I feel like our team and our coaching staff does, too,” Castle said. “So I mean, just that ability to go out here and play my game. It’s been a it’s been a luxury for me.”
The Spurs want that versatility.
“I think he just wants to be a good basketball player I don’t know if he necessarily wants to be a point guard,” Spurs Summer League coach Kenny Trevino said. “He’s really good with the ball in his hands. But he’s also savvy enough that he can make plays off ball, too.
“We talked about him being implemented into our big club plan and playing with Victor [Wembanyama], playing with Chris Paul, he’s not going to have the ball in his hands a ton. So he’s got to be able to impact the game in multiple ways.”
Castle flashed that potential on his first night in Vegas — the potential to be a real foundational piece for the Spurs in the future. If he can live up to that potential over the coming years — and he’s got a lot of work to do to get there — this could be a steal of a draft pick for a team that already is a rising threat in the West.
