How Did Stephon Castle Fare Against Stephen Curry?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonah Kubicek | Last updated Nov 24, 2024 4:03 PM ET

On Saturday night, the San Antonio Spurs overcame a 17-point deficit and beat the Golden State Warriors, 104-94. The Spurs ended the game on a 40-13 run, which was largely conducted by rookie guard Stephon Castle.

It's a bit of a cliché to say that a young player carries himself like a veteran, but Castle plays with poise, physicality, and pace rarely seen in a 19-year-old. In the win, he scored 19 points and dished out three assists, outplaying Stephen Curry, who scored only 14 points on 3-10 shooting from behind the arc.

"Steph Castle did an amazing job on both ends tonight," praised Chris Paul.

Castle entered the game with a defense-first mindset and it clearly showed.

"Coming into the game, my mindset was strictly on defense all night, not really trying to take [Curry] out the game, because I know how hard that is to do," he said. "Just trying to limit as many shots as I can from him, kind of keep him off the line as much as I can."

Curry took only a single free throw in the game, so clearly Castle was able to minimize the damage. However, his offense was also incredible, especially for a rookie, and he helped seal the game with a deep 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to give the Spurs a 93-90 lead that they would never give up.

Spurs' Stephon Castle Takes Lead vs. Warriors (0:10)

While Castle is only shooting 28.1 percent from deep on the season, he has more confidence than even the most established players in the NBA. While he is not a dead-eye shooter (yet), the rookie is commanding some respect from all over the court and is quickly becoming one of the brightest players in the NBA.

According to NBA tracking data, in eight minutes of guarding the greatest shooter of all time Castle was able to hold Curry to only 1-3 shooting from the floor. For such a trigger-happy shooter like Curry, taking him out of the game is a massive feat.

Castle has been stopping superstars since making his debut and has already earned high praise.

"The way he's been able to finish as strong as he has says a lot about a young man who hasn't been doing this for very long," said Mitch Johnson after the win. "He's a competitive young man."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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