The San Antonio Spurs have a bona fide franchise player in reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and it has now become apparent that they have found another building block in last June’s NBA Draft.

The Spurs selected UConn’s Stephon Castle with the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft and he has not wasted any time establishing himself as one of the team’s most important players. Castle was thrust into the starting line-up with Jeremy Sochan sidelined by a thumb injury and has not looked back since.

In nine games as a starter for San Antonio, the rookie guard is averaging 14.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and a steal. The pairing of the 20-year-old Castle and 39-year-old Chris Paul, who own the second largest age gap in a starting backcourt in NBA history, has provided Castle with a strong mentor.

Castle plays with a maturity that is beyond his years, operating at a deliberate pace that allows him to maximize his shiftiness when attacking the basket. He has also flashed excellent court vision and seems to be growing more confident with his outside shot in recent contests–two aspects of his game that, if cultivated properly, could spell the difference between him maxing out as an elite role player or a perennial NBA All-Star.

The 6’6 guard’s height also allows him to shift between all three perimeter positions which makes him even more valuable for this rebuilding San Antonio franchise. 

What makes Castle’s future in the league even more exciting is that he is being mentored by the 12-time NBA All-Star Paul, who helped another guard with a similar playing style blossom not too long ago.

During the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, Chris Paul made a brief stop with the Oklahoma City Thunder, partnering in the backcourt with a then 21-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. At the time, Gilgeous-Alexander was only in his second season and still far from the All-NBA player he would eventually become. Now, he stands among the league’s best, having finished as the runner-up in last year’s NBA Most Valuable Player race. Gilgeous-Alexander has openly credited Paul’s influence as a critical factor in his development, acknowledging how their time together helped shape him into the player he is today.

If Paul can help Castle reach even a fraction of Gilgeous-Alexander’s level, then his one-year, $10.5 million contract from this past offseason could prove to be one of the best value-for-money deals in recent memory. The pieces are coming together in the Spurs’ rebuild, and it will not be long until this team is known by the duo of Wembanyama and Castle, rather than just Wembanyama alone.