San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the winner of the 2024-25 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

The 20-year-old Castle became the fourth player in San Antonio Spurs history to win the award, making the team the first to win consecutive "Rookie of the Year" awards since the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2014-16.

Castle's performance this season is remarkable. He played in 81 regular season games, averaging 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 0.91 steals per game, with an average playing time of 26.7 minutes. Castle led all rookies in scoring, and also ranked fourth and sixth in assists and steals, respectively.

In addition, Castle is the rookie with the highest total points (1,190 points), steals (74 times) and free throws (249 times), and the comprehensive data shows his stable and efficient performance on the court.

Castle was also named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month twice, in January and March. After the All-Star Game, Castle's performance in 30 games was even more impressive, with his average points per game increasing to 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists, showing his mature rookie strength on both offense and defense.

During the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, Castle shined in the "Castrol Rising Star Challenge", led the team to advance and was eventually elected MVP of the event, further consolidating his position as the best rookie of this year.

With the emergence of Castle and last year's Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs' ability to train new stars has been reaffirmed, and the team is expected to return to the championship race in the future.