San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle's defense has caught the attention of his veteran teammates.
"There are definitely All-Defensive awards in his future," Spurs forward Harrison Barnes said, according to Athlon Sports' Mark Medina. "It's just with his ability to guard one through four. And he's strong. There's still years before he's going to fill out his body and be the type of player that he is going to become. But I think that he shows a great aptitude to defend at a very high level."
Castle ranks sixth in steals among rookies with 0.9 per game and boasts the seventh-best defensive rating on the Spurs.
The 20-year-old has taken on tough matchups throughout the season, specifically against two of the Los Angeles Lakers' scoring threats. Castle held Austin Reaves to 6-of-16 shooting through four games and Luka Doncic to 1-of-6 shooting across three contests (two while Doncic was with the Dallas Mavericks) in head-to-head matchups.
"He's a two-way player," Spurs guard Chris Paul said. "He defends. He doesn't duck matchups. There's a whole different kind of shape that you have to be in when you play like that. And he understands that."
Castle's offensive game isn't too far behind his defense: He's averaging 13.8 points and 3.5 assists on 42.7% shooting across 66 games.
"He's playing with poise," Barnes said. "He just has a confidence in himself to take big-game shots, to take on defensive matchups, and take on responsibilities of being a point guard in this league and all that entails. I think he's done a great job with that."
The UConn product has encountered struggles as well; he's shooting a below-average 28.6% from three on 4.1 attempts per game. However, Castle said he tries to ensure adversity doesn't change his approach.
"It's just about playing free and not letting my confidence drop off of makes or misses," Castle said. "It's about allowing it to keep rising, based off the impact I make defensively. I feel like that's my strong suit. So I'm just trying to hold my own on that end. I feel like that kind of sets the tone for whatever kind of night I'm going to have."
The Spurs have fallen down the standings since Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the rest of the season with a blood clot Feb. 20. Last week, the team announced De'Aaron Fox would undergo finger surgery and miss the remainder of the campaign as well.
San Antonio sits 13th in the West at 28-39.
