Spurs guard Stephon Castle was far from perfect Monday night, but it didn’t matter to coach Mitch Johnson after the 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year notched his fifth triple-double of the season and second in the last six games.
“I think tonight was a classic Steph Castle game in the sense that his competitiveness at times probably won out versus some of the basketball cerebral decision-making,” Johnson said. “And I will never, almost never penalize him for that. And I think he’s done a phenomenal job of continuing to put those things together and bottle them and try to have them work together.
“But in a game like that, under the circumstances and the personality of it, he just imposed his will. And at times it may not have been perfect, but it sure reflected him.”
With Victor Wembanyama sidelined after halftime due to a left rib contusion, Castle finished with 19 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to help push the Spurs to a 115-102 win over Philadelphia and gain sole possession of fifth place on the Spurs career chart after sharing that spot with Tim Duncan and Wembanyama for more than a week.
Dejounte Murray heads the list with 17. David Robinson (14), Alvin Robertson (eight) and Johnny Moore (six) also rank ahead of Castle.
In 31 minutes against the Sixers, Castle finished one rebound shy of matching his season high.
“I feel like when our guards are rebounding, our pace is at its highest and that’s when we’re playing our best,” he said. “So just trying to impose my will on that end and then just playing free, just letting the game come to me.”