NBA Rookie Of The Year Race: Stephon Castle Pulling Away

The 2024-25 NBA Rookie Of The Year Race has gone back-and-forth all year. Initially the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Edey was the favorite to capture the award. However, then the favorite changed on a seemingly weekly basis, with candidates such as Jared McCain, Zaccharie Risacher, Alexandre Sarr, Jaylen Wells, and Stephon Castle all sharing time as the odds-on favorite.

Now, with just a month left in the regular season, we are finally gaining clarity that the San Antonio Spurs’ Castle is firmly in the lead to capture the honors. While other top candidates like McCain suffered unfortunate injuries, Castle has been a contributor all year and has made noise with a number of thunderous performances and dunks. He’s gotten better over the course of the season, and has particularly had his best stretch of the season in his last six games.

Over his last six performances, the 6-foot-5 wing has shouldered a larger offensive load with teammate Victor Wembanyama sidelined with a season-ending injury. With this added responsibility, he’s really found his stride as a scorer. The 20-year-old has averaged 23.3 points on 50.9% shooting from the field, with a high of 32 points against the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. In this one, he also found his shot from beyond the arc, which is currently the biggest hole in his games; he converted an impressive four of his ten attempts.

In addition to scoring, Castle has continued to build upon his well-rounded impact. He has facilitated offense as a secondary ball-handler, averaging 4.7 assists. This sharp playmaking ability has always been one of the biggest appeals of the UConn product. He’s also remained an eager rebounder and disruptive defender, averaging 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

Castle’s scoring efficiency has been inconsistent throughout his debut season, but he’s averaged 58.1 TS% across this stretch, which is a big improvement. Moving forward, he’ll have to continue polishing his scoring ability to make this type of production a norm. But for now, Castle is well-positioned to earn the coveted Rookie Of The Year award. He’ll have to maintain his high-level play as Jaylen Wells looks to build up his case, but Castle certainly remains in a good spot.

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