Stephon Castle impresses Spurs and LeBron James: ‘He’s going to be special’

Power forward Jeremy Sochan had a great start to his third season with the San Antonio Spurs, suffering a fracture (proximal phalanx) in his left thumb in Game 7 against the LA Clippers.

Rookie Stephon Castle is not a power forward, but he was selected by interim coach Mitch Johnson to replace Sochan in the starting lineup. You could call it a forced little ball, as Castle, 6-foot-3, filled in for Sochan, whose 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game put him almost tied with Victor Wembanyama as the Spurs’ most impactful player in Game 1 had a week and a half of the season.

To say Castle made the most of the opportunity understates what he showed Johnson and his assistants, teammates, Spurs fans and a particularly momentous opponent.

Immediately after the Spurs’ 120-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in both teams’ first NBA Cup game on November 15, LeBron James reached out to the 20-year-old from the University of Connecticut to ask him a quick question. but meaningful conversation that filled Castle with gratitude, respect and reassurance that he is on the path to success – this season and beyond.

Asked what he told Castle, whose 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting gave the Spurs a solid chance at their first-ever win of the season, James left no doubt what he thought of the No. 4 seed Overall pick of the 2024 draft.

“Keep going, keep going, man,” James repeated his message. “He will be special. He’s going to be special, man.”

James had every reason to be impressed by Castle, who had a special moment with the game on the line. The Spurs rookie hit a hard left-handed layin over James to give the Spurs a 115-114 lead.

It would be the final score for the Spurs as James and Anthony Davis combined to score the final six points of the game.

Still, Castle was appropriately touched by the encouragement from the player most of his generation considered the GOAT.

“I mean, going up against LeBron, a guy I’ve been watching since I was a kid, it’s definitely crazy to share the court with him,” Castle said.

James’ postgame chat with Castle included some tactical advice as well as an admonition to “keep going.”

“I just look at the reads, keep doing what I’m doing, tell myself what the next steps are for the reads I’m doing,” Castle said. “I mean, when I get to painting, playing with two feet, just stuff like that.

“I respect him and appreciate him for coming to me and telling me that. He didn’t have to, but like I said, I’ve been watching him since I was a kid and it meant a lot to me that he came up to me and talked to me, even for a little while.”

Castle didn’t ignore the advice of a superstar and continued on his path to becoming a special player by finally helping the Spurs to their first NBA Cup victory, this time with a 110-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night , despite the … absence of Victor Wembanyama (bruised knee), Devin Vassell (sore left knee) and Sochan.

This time, his most impactful play was a block on Thunder MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with just 22 seconds left in what was the fledgling Spurs’ best win of the early season. SGA had begun an end-to-end drive after knocking down a 3-pointer from Chris Paul with 29 seconds left. Castle stayed on the right side of the Thunder star, and as SGA rose to what looked like a specific basket, Castle timed his jump and hit the ball at the exact moment SGA released it.

“I didn’t know which side he was going to be on,” Castle said. “But I just tried not to let him get past me or throw me out of the game so I could go up there and try to contest it.”

Making the most timely defensive stop of the game was fitting on a night where Castle struggled offensively. He scored 10 points but was 3 of 13 shooting and 1 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc and committed a team-high seven turnovers. He made up for it somewhat with a season-high eight assists, but the fact that Johnson stuck with him for a team-best 34 minutes and 40 seconds underscores the Spurs basketball team’s belief that Castle is on his way to stardom is.

“You can’t get experience without experience, can you?” said Johnson. “It’s one of those tricky deals and he made great plays. He made some younger or more inexperienced plays, but the older guys did that too.”

Sochan is not expected to return until mid-December at the earliest. Until then, Castle will continue to log starting minutes, more than 30 per game. That should give him a chance to impress the keepers of the various NBA rookie rankings, who have yet to place him above No. 10 in his rookie class.

His low ranking so far is no secret. He got off to a terrible start on offense. In his first seven games, he went 15 of 48 (31.3 percent) from the field and a terrible 2 of 16 (12.5 percent) on three-pointers.

Since becoming a starter, he has improved his offensive efficiency. In his eight starts, he has made 37 of 85 shots (43.5 percent) from the field and 13 of 38 (34.2 percent) on three-pointers. He averages 9.9 points per game.

Much of Castle’s improvement can be attributed to his use of a move variously referred to as a “slow step” or “lag”, which is something of a cross between Manu Ginobili’s Euro-step and Steph Curry’s hesitant dribble. The top practitioner of the slow step, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić, uses it and is an MVP candidate.

Castle learned the slow pace under the guidance of Mike Noyes, the Spurs assistant and the team’s player development coach. Like Castle, Noyes was a former UConn guard and joined the Spurs in July after spending six years with the Memphis Grizzlies, most recently as player development director.

“I worked on (the slow pace) with Mike my first week out here right after the draft,” Castle said. “He kind of taught me that. I’ve been using it more lately, but I’ve had it for a while now.”

It was Castle’s defensive work at UConn that caught the eye of NBA talent evaluators, including Spurs general manager Brian Wright and his underlings. His defensive aggression and demeanor during the preseason caught the eye of head coach Gregg Popovich, who described Castle as a “tough nut” on more than one occasion.

Popovich, now recovering from a mild stroke he suffered on Nov. 2, was among those in the basketball department confident that Castle’s offensive skills would blossom with time. Castle appears to be climbing the offensive learning curve quicker than expected, likely because he has embraced the challenge and responsibility of being a starter in the Association.

“I feel good and just rely on my coaches and teammates,” Castle said. “They always put me in a good position to be successful. They make the game very easy for me, so I just go out there and focus on our philosophy and just trust it. That was helpful.”

Castle has another quality that Popovich values: He moves from one play to the next without letting success or failure affect his play. His stoic demeanor is reminiscent of the well-known Spurs star Tim Duncan.

“I try to stay as consistent as possible,” Castle said. “My father always preached about short-term memory. I don’t hang my head over a bad play because I know I can make up for it on the next possession. Just always look forward in the game.”

Castle’s father, Stacey, was a teammate of Duncan’s at Wake Forest for one season.

Castle continues to receive plenty of advice from former Wake Forest stars. He shares the backcourt with Chris Paul, who stays in his ear from start to finish of every game.

“Steph is probably sick of me talking to him all day,” Paul said, “you know what I mean? But I hope he doesn’t because I’m jealous of him for his skills and maturity, right? He just turned 20, but he seems to be a 30-year-old man. He’s just really good on both ends of the court. He’s determined, he’s a competitor, and if you see me talking to him the whole game, I’m probably telling him to shoot the ball, be aggressive or something like that.

“And I think I remember the days when I was going a lot faster and going downhill and passing people, and I know what he’s capable of. I just try to stick with him and if he makes mistakes, we live with it because it always comes from a good place.”

The Spurs believe the No. 4 spot in the 2024 draft was a good spot when Castle remained on the draft board. Like LeBron, they saw something special in Castle and still do.

(Photo of LeBron James and Stephon Castle: Michael Gonzales / NBAE via Getty Images)