Stephon Castle Claims Rookie of the Year Honors in Dominant Fashion, Spurs Go Back-to-Back

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle was crystal clear about his ambition entering the NBA — he wanted to be rookie of the year. And with a dominant debut campaign, Castle didn’t just meet that goal — he soared past it.

Castle was officially crowned the NBA’s 2024-25 Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, securing 92 of 100 first-place votes from a global panel of journalists and broadcasters. He follows in the footsteps of teammate Victor Wembanyama, who won the award last season, making the Spurs the first team in nearly a decade to produce consecutive winners.

“Coming in with all the confidence that I had in myself as a player, that was definitely a goal of mine from Day 1,” Castle told TNT, which aired the announcement. “I’m just happy I was able to execute it.”

The Spurs rookie led all first-year players in points (1,190) and steals (74), becoming the fifth rookie in franchise history to surpass 1,000 points in a season. He edged out Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher — who claimed five first-place votes — and Memphis Grizzlies guard Jaylen Wells, who earned the remaining three.

Castle’s victory marks only the second time in more than 50 years that a single franchise has gone back-to-back with rookie of the year winners. The last time it happened was in 2015 and 2016, when Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns achieved the feat for Minnesota.

His teammate and reigning rookie of the year, Victor Wembanyama, was among the first to congratulate him. “Hustle, heart & just pure talent … all year long, you showed why you deserved this title !! So proud of you,” Wembanyama wrote on social media.

Castle’s relentless energy didn’t go unnoticed by his veteran teammates either. “The first thing that I want to see in a teammate or anybody is how competitive they are,” said Spurs guard Chris Paul. “And I saw immediately that he was competitive. I was like, ‘OK, cool. This is going to be easy.’”

Among other top rookie performers, Risacher finished strong with Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors in February and March. Wells led all rookies in games started (74) and three-pointers made (138). Meanwhile, Washington’s Alex Sarr, Memphis’ Zach Edey, and Miami’s Kel’el Ware rounded out the top six in voting.

Castle’s triumph is another bright spot in San Antonio’s long-term rebuild — and a signal that the Spurs’ youth movement is right on track.