'Just Disrespectful': How Spurs' Stephon Castle Got Under Deni Avdija's Skin in Game 4

PORTLAND, Ore. — Stephon Castle dealt a death blow to the Trail Blazers in Game 4, then rubbed salt in the wound.

The San Antonio Spurs had already turned Portland's 19-point lead into a 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter when Castle slashed through the paint and decelerated for an and-1 on Blazers All-Star Deni Avdija. As Castle walked away he gently pushed the basketball into Avdija's stomach, and Avdija didn't like that one bit.

Steph Castle politely handed Deni Avdija the ball and Deni got really mad pic.twitter.com/oPToEBjt3o
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) April 26, 2026

Avdija shoved Castle, who has been guarding the heck out of Avdija all series. Castle shoved him back as the two exchanged not-so-pleasantries, both players earned offsetting technical fouls, and Castle finished the play at the free throw line after the dust settled. On the other end Avdija tried one last gasp, and Victor Wembanyama stuffed him for his seventh block of the night.

After the game, Avdija spoke about why he lost his cool.

“He’s a good player. I have a lot of respect for him, but… at the end, shoving the ball into my chest, is unnecessary," Avdija said. “I don’t play those games… there’s a level of disrespect that I’m not going to accept. He does a lot of (provoking) throughout the game. At one point, it was just disrespectful. I’m not playing that.”

Deni Avdija spoke on his altercation with Stephon Castle at the end of the game:

“He’s a good player. I have a lot of respect for him, but … at the end, showing the ball into my chest, is unnecessary.

“I don’t play those games … there’s a level of disrespect that I’m not… pic.twitter.com/CNnSw0FHAt
— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) April 26, 2026

Avdija is correct that Castle went out of his way to be disrespectful, but a little bit of bad blood in a playoff series is understandable, entertaining, and perhaps tactically useful. Familiarity breeds contempt, and physicality and mean-spirited mind games are a wonderful part of postseason basketball.

Jaden McDaniels gave us another great example of that this week. The Timberwolves' wing called out Denver's players by name and called them bad defenders after Game 3, and after Minnesota spent 47 minutes and 59 seconds proving his theory before McDaniels ended the Game 4 blowout by breaking the unwritten rule with an uncontested layup, nearly sparking a brawl.

Sometimes, these moments provide the disrespected team or player with the bulletin-board material they need to raise their level of play. Other times, it's pure nightmare fuel for the victim and the monster under the bed is cruelly playing with their food.

It's understandable that Avdija reacted to the rage bait with, well, rage. He appeared to be genuinely angry, and it looked like he said quite a few words that you can't say on TV. Castle and the Spurs, on the other hand, had a laugh about it.

Castle punked Avdija in the closing moments of a game that was clearly about to give the Spurs a 3-1 advantage in the series. In doing so, he took a parting shot at his confidence by saying, "I do not fear you in any sense of the word." He acquired a bit of real estate in Avdija's mind, and he's been living in his jersey all series.

In the first three games of the series, Castle spent more time guarding Avdija than any Spur spent on any Blazer. The gameplan is clear: put one of the league's best point-of-attack defenders on Portland's best downhill scorer. In that battle of strength on strength, Castle is proving stronger.

Avdija only scored 11 points on Castle in the first three games, limited to 4-10 from the floor and only two free throw attempts. Avdija shot more free throws per game than anyone in the league not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this year, but the Spurs have done a solid job of keeping him in check. Avdija scored 26 in Game 4, but turned it over five times and fouled out. In Game 3, he shot just 3-15 from the floor.

In addition to making Deni's life difficult as a scorer, the Spurs have clearly identified him as the weak link in Portland's otherwise-stout defense. Any player who has the ball in their hands and Avdija in front of him is encouraged to attack with ruthless aggression. De'Aaron Fox in particular has feasted on Avdija.

"Especially when a team gets up by 19, you feel the electricity in the building, especially in a playoff game when you get up like that, and then you slowly start seeing the lead dwindle down, the crowd kinda goes away, shots start getting a little tighter and I think we felt that," said Fox, who led San Antonio with 28 points.

"Once we tied the game up, you start feeling good about yourself," Fox said. "Whenever we got the lead down and we went into the fourth quarter, we have all the momentum, it's a tie game yes, but their shots start feeling a little tighter, our shots start feeling a little looser because we were able to fight back."

The Blazers looked like they might have a chance in the series after Wemby suffered a concussion and they won Game 2. Instead, they're heading back to San Antonio in a 3-1 hole after blowing big leads in back-to-back games at home. The situation is demoralizing for Portland, and the way they got into the situation is demoralizing, and just as they were starting to process that, Castle hit them with an extra bit of demoralization just for good measure.

It may be unkind to kick someone when they're down, but it's also the easiest time to kick someone. Steph Castle and the Spurs aren't in the playoffs to be nice, they are here to eliminate opponents. When the series returns to San Antonio for Game 5, they'll have a chance to step on the Blazers' necks.

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