SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio guard Stephon Castle finally has the hardware to prove it. He officially received his NBA Rookie of the Year award on Wednesday.
Castle and the Spurs discussed his season during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
Before receiving the award, Spurs general manager Brian Wright told Castle that he believed “a much more appropriate group” was necessary to present him with the award.
Moments later, Spurs legends Tim Duncan and David Robinson — along with current Spur Victor Wembanyama — emerged with the Rookie of the Year award before they presented it to Castle.
Throughout the 2024-25 regular season, Castle was considered a runaway favorite to win the award. He was selected as the Western Conference’s Rookie of the Month in January and March.
When the final Rookie of the Year votes were tallied, Castle earned 92 first-place votes on his way to totaling 482 points. In second place, the Atlanta Hawks’ Zaccharie Risacher earned five first-place votes and 245 points total.
In 81 regular-season games, Castle led all rookies in scoring (1,190 points), scoring average (14.7 points), steals (74), and made free throws (249). He saved his best basketball of the season for March (19.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists) and April (18.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.5 assists).
Castle’s Rookie of the Year win marked the first time two Spurs teammates won the award in back-to-back seasons (Victor Wembanyama in 2023-24).
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