Victor Wembanyama shouts out Stephon Castle for becoming 2nd straight Spur to earn ROTY honor
Victor Wembanyama gave Stephon Castle his flowers after the San Antonio Spurs rookie was named the Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. The Spurs now have full bragging rights, as two of their players have won the award in back-to-back years. Last season, Wembanyama was named the ROTY.
Wemby gave Castle a shoutout on his X (formerly Twitter), explaining why the rookie was deserving of the award.
"Hustle, heart & just pure talent… all year long, you showed why you deserved this title !! So proud of you @StephonCastle🙏🏽🙏🏽❤️," Victor Wembanyama wrote.
Stephon Castle averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. Compared to the other Rookie of the Year finalists, Zaccharie Risacher and Jaylen Wells, Castle's numbers are significantly better. However, some might debate that Jared McCain could've won the award this season had he not been injured.
This is the first time since 2016 that two players from the same franchise have won the Rookie of the Year award. The last duo to win the award in two consecutive seasons was Andrew Wiggins (2015) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2016), who were playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Spurs veteran proud of Stephon Castle's ROTY win
While getting a nod from Victor Wembanyama is already a huge feat for Stephon Castle, grabbing the attention of a 20-year veteran is a different story. Castle's veteran teammate, Chris Paul, showed the San Antonio Spurs rookie some love after he won the Rookie of the Year award.
Paul explained the potential he saw in Castle. CP3 is one of the most renowned point guards in the league, which means that, as his teammate, one needs to step up to the occasion. Fortunately for Paul, the Spurs rookie met the veteran's requirements.
"I get so excited watching him play," Paul said. "The first thing that I want to see in a teammate or anybody is how competitive they are. That’ll take you further than talent any day. And I saw immediately was that he was competitive. I was like, ‘OK, cool. This is going to be easy.’"
With the San Antonio Spurs now having two Rookie of the Year award winners on their roster, the future looks bright for the franchise. Hopefully, come next season, Victor Wembanyama will make his return to help Stephon Castle and Chris Paul redeem themselves in the Western Conference.
