The San Antonio Spurs are the talk of the NBA as a talented young team led by French superstar Victor Wembanyama tied the Western Conference finals with a 103-82 win over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, 2-2.
Although Vembanyama has garnered much attention as he begins to carve his legacy as a potential all-time great, former American high school basketball leader.
Well, Aaron Fox,
Dylan Harper and:
Stephen’s Castle played pivotal roles throughout the series and season.
In the Western Conference finals, Harper had 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and six assists in 47 minutes in a 122-115 double-overtime victory in the series opener.
During his high school career at Georgia, Stephon Castle averaged 16.7 points, 7.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds per contest during a promising sophomore campaign for the Spurs. (Photo by Corey Jones)
The former Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) the standout won MaxPreps Player of the Year Award Averaged 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game during his senior campaign in 2023-24. His efforts helped the Ironmen win the Non-Public A state title and a No. 9 finish in the MaxPreps Final 25.
After struggling with turnovers through the first two games of the series, Castle tightened things up with just two over the next pair of games. The versatile guard is averaging 17.3 points, 8.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds per contest in four games against the defending champion.
Harrison BarnesHe, who played 16 minutes off the bench in Game 4, is also a former
MaxPreps National Player of the Year. The 33-year-old veteran won the award in 2009-10 after leading the
Ames (Iowa) reeled off 53 straight wins, finishing with career averages of 26.1 points, 10 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per game as a senior.
San Antonio has an exceptionally young roster with Vembanyama (22), Harper (20) and Castle (21) likely to be the cornerstones of what is expected to be a blossoming NBA dynasty. Fox (28) brings a veteran presence to the starting lineup, while other key young rotation pieces include Johnson (26),
Carter Bryant (20),
Devin Vassell (25) and:
Julian Champagne (24).
