Could Spurs put two on All-Defensive team? Stephon Castle making case

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors ruled All-Star guard Stephen Curry out for the 26^th consecutive game Wednesday with a right knee injury.

Spurs guard Stephon Castle wasn’t the most disappointed person at the Chase Center to learn the news.

But he was certainly high on the list.

“I want the best player on every team that we play against to play,” Castle said after the Spurs’ morning walkthrough on the Warriors’ home court. “It sucks to have him out.”

That take-on-all-comers approach has been Castle’s calling card since he was in high school.

It is a mentality that has the 21-year-old Castle on the brink of possibly earning his first NBA All-Defensive honors.

Castle’s nightly defensive assignments read like a who’s who of NBA superstars of all shapes and sizes — Curry, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Donĉić, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Houston’s Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün.

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

MORE SPURS: In sync with Stephon Castle, why Victor Wembanyama predicted ‘thousands’ of lobs to come

“The only thing that’s really similar with the guys that he guards is they’re always a primary option,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.

When it comes to the Spurs’ defense — ranked third in the NBA heading into Wednesday — Victor Wembanyama is the 7-foot-4 scene-stealer.

Before opposing players can approach to the paint to challenge (or not) the league’s leading shot-blocker, however, they first must make it past a 6-foot-6, 220-pound Mack truck in the Spurs’ backcourt.

Castle’s hit list has been impressive.

On the Christmas Day win at OKC, he helped hold Gilgeous-Alexander — the once and perhaps future NBA MVP — to a 7-of-19 shooting performance.

In February, he hounded Cunningham into a brutal 5-of-26 night. Doncic had a 9-of-26 nightmare against Castle in November.

There was the night in Houston in which Castle took a break from the duty of making Durant’s life miserable to switch onto the Şengün, an All-Star center, thereby short-circuiting the Rockets’ late-game offense.

“A lot of teams don’t even want to bring the ball up when he’s pressuring them,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “Or they’re trying to set a screen, or they’re just trying to pass it.”

Castle’s defensive chops factored into his Rookie of the Year win last season.

He has improved both on and off the ball in his second NBA campaign, coaches and teammates say.

“Him being able to get into people’s chests and him having that reputation now to where he could be a little bit more physical and he can get away with some of them bumps and pushes, that allows you to become a really good defender,” Vassell said. “And that’s what he’s been able to excel in.”

Castle’s all-defense case has the notable support of Wembanyama, who appears to be a shoo-in to win his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year award later this spring.

By season’s end, Wembanyama expects to see Castle’s name next to his on one of the two NBA All-Defensive teams.

READ MORE: Does Victor Wembanyama need to score more to catch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP?

“He was already good,” Wembanyama said. “But we put him on some top guys multiple times, and he’s answered every time. He’s really, really impressive defensively.”

Castle has always considered himself something of a giant slayer, dating to his earliest days on campus at Newton High School in Covington, Ga.

Not only was he willing to take on the most difficult defensive matchup, he often demanded it.

“In high school, it was probably more just pride,” Castle said. “Seeing guys ranked ahead of me, guys who have the same path going into college. I see somebody getting a lot of hype, I want to see what it’s about.”

Castle continued to dominate the defensive end for one season in college at Connecticut, where his tenacity was a driving force behind the Huskies’ surge to the 2024 NCAA national championship.

The first marquee matchup Castle remembers in the NBA, coincidentally enough, was Curry.

“We played the Warriors early in my rookie year,” Castle said. “He was probably one of the first big superstars that I played against.”

The Spurs won that Nov. 23, 2024, game against Golden State 104-94. Castle made his mark, helping limit Curry to a 5-of-16 performance.

Make no mistake. Curry has gotten in his licks as well.

Twice in three nights earlier last November, Curry made the Frost Bank Center into his personal playground despite Castle’s best efforts, totaling 95 points in consecutive Golden State victories.

The 49 points Curry posted in the second of those wins remains his season high.

If Castle arrived in the Bay Area this week intent on gaining revenge against the two-time MVP, Curry’s balky right knee scuttled those plans.

Much to Castle’s chagrin.

“He’s kind of the engine for this (Warriors) team, and I always enjoy playing against him, Castle said. “Taking on those challenges is something I’m very comfortable with.”

And that should make the rest of the league uncomfortable.