Stephon Castle Wins NBA Rookie of Year, Spurs Celebrate Back-to-Back Honors

Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs was named NBA Rookie of the Year in a landslide, receiving 92 out of 100 first-place votes from a global panel of media members. Castle, drafted fourth overall, became the second consecutive Spur to win the award following Victor Wembanyama, marking only the fifth time in NBA history a franchise has had back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners. Castle's season began slowly, but he evolved into the Spurs' primary offensive option, particularly after the All-Star break, and led all rookies in points and steals. He finished the season averaging 14.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game, with even higher numbers over the final stretch of the season. Castle credited his confidence and mentorship from teammates like Chris Paul for his rapid development and versatility. Zaccharie Risacher of Atlanta and Jaylen Wells of Memphis finished second and third in the voting, respectively.