The San Antonio Spurs have made big strides this season and find themselves in a position to make the playoffs this season. Part of their success is 2024 fourth-overall pick Stephon Castle. Castle is having a solid rookie year for the Spurs and has a chance to make history.
Castle has been as good as advertised and has proven worthy of being taken top-five thus far. So much so that he is now number one in NBA.com's Kia Rookie Ladder, there have been only five instances in NBA history in which there have been consecutive rookies of the year coming from the same team.
The last such occurrence was back in 2014 and 2015 when the Minnesota Timberwolves had Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns each win the award. Having Victor Wembanyama, who is the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, and Castle win the award in back-to-back years would bode well for their rebuild, with both players having great futures.
Although he has returned to the bench, Castle has a strong chance to win Rookie of the Year if he's able to stay healthy. After all, previous front-runner Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers is out indefinitely with a meniscus tear, and those injuries normally take weeks if not months to heal.
That would result in him missing the 65-game cut-off that is needed to be considered for the award. Castle's averages of 11.5 points and 3.8 assists in 27 minutes per game don't jump off the screen, but he has played consistent minutes on a team that has a chance to make the playoffs this year. That should help his case in the minds of voters.
Can rookie Stephon Castle win Rookie of the Year for the San Antonio Spurs?
Given how this year's draft class was seen as underwhelming and that there wasn't a clear star, it seemed inevitable that there was going to be a wide-open field. Especially with number one overall pick Atlanta Hawks forward Zacharie Rishasher coming off the bench and number two overall pick Alex Sarr of the Washington Wizards having an up-and-down rookie season.
McCain shot up the Rookie of the Year leaderboard after getting extended playing time with injuries to Tyrese Maxey with the Philadelphia 76ers, but his injury has created a wide-open field that Castle appears to be the leader of. With his role in flux after moving back to the bench with Devin Vassell starting again, his minutes may take a hit, but he could play minutes at both shooting guard and point guard.
His defensive prowess and ball handling also should allow him to get on the court late in games where he could further help his Rookie of the Year case. All in all, with McCain's injury, Castle is the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year. If he can, he and Wembanyama will be just the sixth teammates to ever do so in consecutive seasons.