San Antonio - Slow steps, slow speed - whatever they now call the new variant of the famous Eurostep - San Antonio rookie Stephon Castle learned and mastered it in his first week.

“They told me that during my first workout, they told me,” Castle told ESPN.

Castle, the fourth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, stuffed the move into his already deep bag and stripped his opponents in the process of earning the 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year honors. The Castle won 92 votes and won the Atlanta Hawks runner-up Zaccharie Risacher Award. Memphis Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells ranked third. The Castle became the fourth thrill to win the award, joining Victor Wembanyama, Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

“As a player, I’ve always been very confident,” Castle told ESPN. “So, I feel like there is no doubt that I will eventually reach this point, especially in all the work I put in. I feel that is inevitable.

San Antonio became the fifth team in NBA history and the second team in the past 50 years, inviting Rookie of the Year winners. Andrew Wiggins (2015) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2016) are the last awards in the series (Minnesota) awards.

"We have a lot of history in this organization," Castle told ESPN. "So, adding another thing to our trophy case definitely means a lot, especially if my name is engraved in mine."

Castle started as a rookie match at the age of 47 and led all rookies with total points (1,190), scoring shots (423) and steals (74). In addition to an average of 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 0.91 steals, his free throws (249) are more than 100 more than any other first-year player. Castle is the first Spurs rookie since Duncan, ranking in the top two in his first season.

Castle is also the first player to win the Rookie of the Year since Emeka Okafor won the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004-05. The Castle ranked the least rookie of the year with 14.7 points per game since 2016-17, when Malcolm Brogdon averaged 10.2 points with the Milwaukee Bucks.

"The first thing that came to mind (with) Rookie of the Year (is) the first thing I had to have a chance to win the game," Spurs star Wembanyama said. "So, it was a big milestone. I'm very proud of Steph for everything he did in the adaptation and growth of the league."

The MVP of the 2025 Rising Game and the two Western Conference monthly rookies (January and March) is the only player in his draft class to exceed 1,000 points, earning double digits in the best 60 games of the rookie. In addition to summing up 5 doubles and 18 games to multiple steals, Castle also has 26 or more 30 points, with 20 or 30 points.

In the first half of the season, Castle averaged 12.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists, then increased production in the All-Star Game by 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

The Spurs see the castle as a core part of the organization's future along with Wembanyama and the new De'aaron Fox.

"He will be a dynamic force," said acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.

As for the Castle, after taking advice from veteran teammate Chris Paul, he was ready to return to the lab and compete in some playoff games to see what’s going on in the future. Castle mastered his slow steps to get his patent in Week 1 with the Spurs. So naturally, he was excited about the work that could be done throughout the offseason in San Antonio.

“This is my first real offseason,” Castle told ESPN. “So I finally got the chance to just play games. Honestly, this is that I didn’t do some kind of summer training, ready for the team, AAU.