The San Antonio Spurs have gone back-to-back. On Tuesday, the NBA announced that Stephon Castle has been named the 2024–25 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, marking the second consecutive season a Spurs player has taken home the honor. Last year, it was Victor Wembanyama—now it’s Castle, the No. 4 overall pick out of UConn, who edged out a competitive rookie class to claim the award.
With Castle’s win, the Spurs join rare company. Only three players in franchise history have now earned Rookie of the Year honors: David Robinson (1990), Tim Duncan (1998), and now Castle. All three—now four with Wembanyama—represent foundational pieces from different eras of Spurs basketball. For San Antonio, this is more than a streak; it’s a statement that the franchise is once again building something sustainable through player development and smart drafting.
Castle’s rookie campaign was a slow burn that turned into a breakout. He began the season coming off the bench, averaging just 20 minutes across his first seven games. Over time, his role expanded as he showed flashes of two-way versatility and poise beyond his years. Though he bounced between bench and starter throughout the year, he ultimately started 47 of the 81 games he played and saw a dramatic uptick in usage following the All-Star break.
For the season, Castle averaged 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 made three-pointers per game. His numbers as a starter told a fuller story of his impact: 16.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.5 threes on 30 minutes per game—figures that hinted at his long-term potential as a dynamic combo guard.
That potential crystallized down the stretch.
After the Spurs made a midseason splash by trading for De’Aaron Fox, expectations around the team’s rebuild accelerated. But fate intervened: Fox was sidelined for the final stretch of the season due to a finger injury, and Wembanyama, the franchise’s generational centerpiece, was also limited to just 46 games due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The keys to the offense, and the team’s identity, were handed to Castle.
He delivered.
In the final 18 games of the season—his first extended run as the team’s full-time lead guard—Castle averaged 19.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.3 threes per game, logging over 31 minutes per night and taking nearly 15 shots per game. Those numbers not only marked a leap in production but signaled a player adjusting quickly to increased responsibility. Castle’s advanced metrics also improved across the board, and he became a more confident shot-creator and facilitator under pressure.
Though the Spurs finished outside the playoff picture, the combination of Castle’s late-season growth and the anticipated return of a healthy Wembanyama and Fox offers one of the most intriguing cores in the Western Conference. Castle’s Rookie of the Year win is a milestone—but it might just be the beginning of something bigger brewing in San Antonio.