SAN ANTONIO — Why the San Antonio Spurs selected guard Stephon Castle at No. 4 in the NBA Draft is easy to understand.
He's 6-foot-6 and averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists with Connecticut in the regular season.
He also comes from a winning program, coached by one of the best college coaches, Dan Hurley, and played for the 2022 Team USA FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship, winning a gold medal.
Add his incredible defensive skills, and the Spurs may have found their point guard for the rebuild.
But beyond stats, numbers, and other metrics, Castle has a character that'll fit in with the Spurs.
"That willingness to sacrifice and he was always he's he's kind of like a quiet, stoic type of personality," General Manager Brian Wright said. "So you try to pick up little things along the way that tell you about him as a teammate."
Those attributes of Castle's character as a teammate have been noted since he was in high school.
San Antonio had been watching his development before he moved to UConn and was left impressed about his potential fit with the team.
"It wasn't like this was the first time we'd heard of him. We'd seen him in the high school scene. He was a pretty highly-rated high school player. And so we tried to spend as much time with those guys as possible and get to know him," Wright said. "Spending time at practice going to games, even in the grassroots scene when we're allowed to see those guys we try to make sure that we get eyes on them."
In Castle, the Spurs GM noted his willingness to know his role, which will fit well, knowing that this is Victor Wembanyama's team.
"That ability to sacrifice for the betterment of the team is something that stood out to us as well," he said. "Because that's something you're gonna have to do across the course of your career."
"That stood out as a great quality, but he's tough. He's smart. He's a team-first guy. He's a hard worker."
Castle's play with a stacked UConn team should help his transition into the Spurs. He's played with a big man - Donovan Clingan - and is familiar with deferring for the team's betterment as the Huskies marched to the 2024 NCAA title.
"It didn't matter if he had 18 points in that game or six points. He was fired up for his teammates," he said. " What's he like in that locker room, and there were just a lot of positives."
The Spurs selecting Castle was approved by Hurley, who also noted his work ethic and excellent fit.
"This guy when you look at fit, the Spurs, they value winning, they value workers. He is a perfect player for them to draft," said Hurley.
WRIGHT SEES VALUE IN AMASSING DRAFT PICKS
Wright also addressed why the team is stacking draft picks after the Spurs added two more future first-round picks (2030 and 2031 future, first-round picks) in their Rob Dillingham-Minnesota trade on draft day.
"Typically, it's a pretty good strategy. So we'll try to continue to make sound decisions with whatever we do. We want to continue to improve the team," he said. "We know that we've got a great runway here. We've got some great young talent and we look to build around them in the right way."
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