Spurs' Stephon Castle named NBA Rookie of the Year
The American point guard beat last year's number one draft pick, Hawks' Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher, who finished second.
Castle (5) drives to the basket in a game against the Clippers.
American point guard Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs has been named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2024–2025 season, succeeding his teammate, French star Victor Wembanyama, the league announced Tuesday. Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks), the No. 1 overall pick in the most recent draft, finished second in the voting.
Castle, 20, averaged 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 81 regular-season games. He is an aggressive playmaking leader and excellent defender who has been in the spotlight all season, and especially at the end of the season when key Spurs players Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox were lost to injury.
"I can't help but think about the goal I just put on my back, but I'm ready to face it," Castle told broadcaster TNT. "With the confidence I have, it was definitely a goal (to win the rookie award) from day one. I'm happy to have accomplished it." San Antonio finished 13th in the Western Conference with 34 wins and 48 losses, and did not qualify for the playoffs.
The Spurs, with the last two rookies of the year
They are the first team to have the last two rookies of the year on their roster since Minnesota with Andrew Wiggins in 2015 and Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016. David Robinson in 1990 and Tim Duncan in 1998 were previously voted the best NBA rookies belonging to the Spurs.
The Wilt Chamberlain trophy was awarded after a panel of 100 journalists who cover the NBA voted for a trio of players, in order. Castle pulled away from Risacher by a wide margin, with 92 voters placing him first, by five votes for the Frenchman and three for Memphis' Jaylen Wells.
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