Spurs have found their PG of the future in Stephon Castle

The play was one of several stops that Castle produced through the night. He was a +15 on the floor in a tight game that the Spurs nearly squandered by getting outscored 27-17 in the fourth quarter.

It wasn't a perfect night by any means. The UConn product committed seven turnovers and shot 3-of-13 from the field. Yet, Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson allowed Castle, 20, to play through his mistakes, which paid off in a big way in the dying seconds of the game. 

And the youngster has definitely earned his coaching staff's faith.

In his limited opportunities thus far, Castle has done a tremendous job checking some of the best guards in the NBA. He held Kyrie Irving to 2-of-7 shooting in two matchups with the Mavericks and De'Aaron Fox to 2-of-6 when San Antonio hosted Sacramento. Castle has the foot speed and size to stay in front of superstar guards and the IQ to read angles and disrupt plays. He has also shown elite passing ability out of pick and rolls. 

Mind you, Castle has never been relied upon as the primary ball-handler in his young career. During his stint at UConn, he was third in assists behind Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, and with the Spurs, he's playing next to Chris Paul, one of the greatest point guards in history. However, Castle has shown the temperament and passing ability to eventually turn into a floor general and the ideal running mate for franchise star Victor Wembanyama.

Paul, who has been mentoring Castle, is so impressed with his rookie that he feels the 20-year-old is more polished than he was at the same age. At the start of training camp, Paul credited UConn coach Dan Hurley for preparing Castle for the pros.

"You can tell that Steph is well coached," Paul said of his rookie. "But the confidence level he has is so good to see. You only get that type of confidence if you put in the work, and that's what he does. I mean I was nice when I came in as a rookie, but he's strong as hell too."

Even LeBron James couldn't stop raving about Castle after playing the Spurs game last weekend.

"He's going to be special, man," James said of Castle. "It's always great to see young talent come into our league and make an impact right away."

In Castle, Wemby, Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell, the Spurs have unearthed a talented group of youngsters to build around. The history of the franchise suggests another dynasty could be loading. The Spurs are 7-8 to start the 2024-25 season, a year after winning only 22 games.