Victor Wembanyama Had Sweet Message for NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle

Last season's ROTY had some nice things to say for 2024-25's.
San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle on Nov 27, 2024.
San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle on Nov 27, 2024. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
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San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle was crowned the 2024–25 NBA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, and his Spurs teammate (and reigning ROTY) Victor Wembanyama made sure he was feeling the love.

"Hustle, heart & just pure talent... all year long, you showed why you deserved this title !! So proud of you," Wemby posted on X (formerly Twitter), accompanied by a few emojis.

With Castle, the Spurs have now have back-to-back rookie of the year wins.

The 20-year-old UConn product and 2024 NCAA Champion was drafted by San Antonio last June, and averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds across 81 games (47 starts) this past season.

“Coming in, with all of the confidence that I have in myself as a player, [winning the award] was definitely a goal of mine coming in from Day 1,” Castle said on TNT, per The Athletic. “I am just happy I was able to execute it."

Wembanyama, meanwhile, was sidelined earlier this season with a bout of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. As of early April, it seemed his recovery was progressing well, meaning we'll hopefully get both Castle and Wemby back on the court together next year.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.