Reaching the playoffs has historically been a baseline expectation for the San Antonio Spurs, and they are ready to get back to that standard in the 2025-26 campaign after a postseason hiatus.
Just ask the reigning Rookie of the Year.
“We’re super excited about this season,” Stephon Castle told Bleacher Report. “We have high expectations for ourselves. Going to the playoffs is definitely a goal of ours, but succeeding in the playoffs is also a goal. Spurs fans should really be looking forward to it.”
While San Antonio hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2018-19 season, it improved from 22 wins in 2023-24 to 34 in 2024-25 even though franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama was limited to 46 games.
And the supporting cast is stronger now with De’Aaron Fox as a steady hand at point guard who is capable of being an All-Star and taking over games as a scorer or facilitator, Castle coming off his Rookie of the Year campaign, and players such as Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson who can be scoring sparks and pour in 20-plus points on any given night.
That core alone would have been enough reason for optimism, but then the Spurs got fortunate in the draft lottery and landed the No. 2 pick. They used that pick on Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, who was an All-Big Ten selection and averaged 19.4 points per game in his one collegiate season.
“Dylan’s good, he’s definitely going to be able to help us,” Castle said. “From what I’ve seen already is that the game is starting to slow down for him before he’s even played a game yet. I know the raw skill he has along with his IQ is going to be a big help this year.”
There is young talent all over the San Antonio roster, but everything ultimately comes down to Wembanyama.
After all, hyperbole doesn’t exist when talking about his potential as a 7’3″ matchup nightmare with the ability to handle the ball, shoot from beyond the three-point line, score on the blocks and anchor the interior defense.
He seems like a lock for 10 or more All-Star selections and a handful of Defensive Player of the Year awards if he stays healthy, although he played just 46 games last season because of deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder.
Fortunately for the Spurs, Wembanyama told the French newspaper L’Equipe this summer he has been fully cleared and expects to play in the 2025-26 campaign (h/t Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press).
“He makes a world of a difference on both sides of the court,” Castle said of his most famous teammate. “Drawing the attention of the defense, getting other guys open, protecting the rim. Sometimes guys are scared to drive in there. It’s great to have him healthy, he’s been looking great these last couple weeks. Hopefully, everyone stays healthy because it’s going to be a fun year.”
Wembanyama may be the face of the team, but Castle is a key franchise cornerstone as well and a major reason for that overarching optimism.
He entered the league with high expectations as the No. 4 pick of the 2024 NBA draft who won a national championship and was the Big East Rookie of the Year in his one collegiate season at UConn and then proceeded to exceed them.
Castle delivered as the Rookie of the Year who averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from deep. He joined Spurs’ royalty in the process and joined David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Wembanyama as the four players in franchise history to win Rookie of the Year.
“It means a lot, especially with the organization I play with,” he said of winning the award and joining such a list. “To be a part of their history means a lot, especially in year one to receive that recognition and start my career off on the right foot.”
Thriving like that right away in his NBA career also gave him a bigger platform off the court, and he took advantage of that by partnering with USAA for its Huddle Up for Home Fire Prevention & Safety campaign that strives to spread awareness and education about the dangers of home fires in the kitchen.
Castle teamed up with the organization and the San Antonio Fire Department for a controlled kitchen fire demonstration that showed how quickly a stove fire can grow, how people can put it out and how they can avoid such a situation in the first place.
“This partnership has been great,” Castle said. “I partnered with them to learn about the prevention of fires, especially now knowing how many fires there are per year. So just knowing how important prevention is, and being able to partner with them and spread the word has been great.”
He also pointed out that cooking causes more than 150,000 home structure fires a year, adding “the most important thing is just being knowledgeable and raising awareness to families across the country.”
Castle figures to have plenty of additional opportunities off the court, especially if he builds on his Rookie of the Year performance and takes a second-year leap.
It is reasonable to expect such a jump, as he now has NBA experience under his belt and a clear understanding of where he needs to improve in areas such as his outside shooting. Having a healthy Wembanyama should help him do just that with more open looks, as opposing defenses are forced to collapse on the big man whenever he is on the floor.
San Antonio will also need Castle to be versatile as both a defender and someone who can play either with or without the ball given its backcourt rotation. Adjustments will need to be made with Fox and Harper on the roster, and that versatility on both ends will be important.
With that in mind, Castle has been working on specific traits this offseason.
“Being better with the ball, having my turnovers down,” he said. “I’m also working on shooting a lot. Shooting off the dribble and just trying to find more efficient shots on the court that I’m comfortable with.
“And I’m looking to continue building chemistry with my teammates. We have a lot of young guys on the team, and I’ll probably be playing with them for a long time. The more chemistry we can build, the better.”
The pieces are there to make a number of playoff runs in the coming years. Now it is up to the players to build that chemistry and live up to their collective potential if the Spurs are going to be a true threat in the daunting Western Conference with so much young talent all coming together at once.
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