The San Antonio Spurs have long been one of the best teams in the NBA at evaluating and finding talent. Draft-day steals like Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Dejounte Murray all stand out, but even with highly-touted players, the Spurs have no problem developing them.

Castle follows 2023-24 recipient Victor Wembanyama and is the fourth ROY winner in franchise history, also joining David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells and Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher were the other finalists for the award.

Stephen Castle was not the wire-to-wire winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award, however, by the time the race neared the finish line, he had run away from the rest of his class. Castle was the landslide winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award,