Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Stephon Castle’s camp sent signals to the Houston Rockets not to draft him, and the reason was simple: he did not want to land behind Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green.
According to Amick, Rockets coach Ime Udoka was a big fan of Castle, but the guard and his camp made it clear that San Antonio was the better path.
That decision looks better in hindsight for both Castle and the Spurs.
Castle spent his rookie season earning minutes and responsibility in San Antonio, then took a much bigger step in year two. In 2024-25, he averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 81 games, and he won Rookie of the Year. In 2025-26, he grew into a full-time point guard, starting 67 of 68 games and putting up 16.7 points, 7.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 47.1% from the field.
The fit mattered. Castle was not looking for a development lane with limited touches, and the Rockets already had the ball-handling hierarchy set with VanVleet and Green. For a young guard trying to accelerate his growth, that context helps explain why Houston was not his preferred destination.
It also explains why San Antonio made sense from the start. The Spurs gave Castle room to expand his role, and he responded by becoming one of the most productive young guards in the league. In the 2025-26 playoffs, he has averaged 19.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.0 rebounds in 21 games, shooting 47.7% overall and 81.1% from the foul line.
That playoff production fit the broader trajectory of the Spurs’ rise. Castle’s passing numbers jumped from 4.1 assists as a rookie to 7.4 in his second season, and his usage grew with the responsibility that Houston could not promise him at the time of the draft.
