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Stephon Castle #5 of the San Antonio Spurs controls the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half at Crypto.com Arena on February 10, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
In a positive update, blossoming star Stephon Castle avoided a serious injury after taking a hard fall in the 136-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The San Antonio Spurs guard exited the game at the 4:10 mark of the second quarter after hitting the floor following a stellar block on Rui Hachimura’s 1-foot running dunk. He had seven assists in just 12 minutes, playing a key role in his Spurs jumping out to a 69-46 lead at the time of his injury. The Spurs deemed he had suffered a pelvic contusion after ruling him out for the second half of the game.
Stephon Castle Injury Update
X-rays on the defensive ace’s injury were negative, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
“I’m all right. I’m good,” Castle said after the win.
Castle is reportedly a game-time decision for Wednesday’s away contest against the Golden State Warriors, the final game before the All-Star break.
If the Spurs choose to sit out Castle, rookie guard Dylan Harper could be a candidate for increased playing time, and possibly even a starting nod. The second-generation star has come off the bench in all 42 of his appearances thus far, even in games that haven’t included either De’Aaron Fox or Stephon Castle, the starting backcourt.
Tough break for Stephon Castle.
Speaking of the All-Star break, many analysts feel that Stephon Castle should have received his first All-Star nod, given his excellent two-way play all season. The 21-year-old has arguably been the Spurs’ best perimeter defender while also leading the team in assists (7.0), steals (1.3) and several hustle metrics.
Stephon Castle: All-Star Snub?
After Tuesday’s win over the Lakers, Harrison Barnes criticized NBA commissioner Adam Silver for selecting Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram as the replacement for the injured Stephen Curry over his teammates, Fox or Castle.
“It would be criminal if him or Fox didn’t get a look,” Barnes said, via Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News.
“We’re No. 2 in the West,” Barnes said of his 37-16 Spurs. “Teams below us have two All-Stars. I don’t know a case where if you’re talking about having an impact on winning, either of them shouldn’t be selected and/or at least under consideration.”
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson also criticized the NBA for not naming at least two All-Stars from his second-seeded squad.
“I do think it’s very interesting that De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle have not been named an All-Star,” Johnson said, via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “So I’ll answer that question that wasn’t asked. But seven teams in this league have multiple All-Stars, and we’ve played pretty good against a lot of the top teams in this league.”
“Nothing to take away from anybody who has been named an All-Star, because they have a lot of great players,” Johnson added. “But the only way I can think we are deserving of [only] one All-Star means there must be an awful lot of people that have Victor Wembanyama as one of the front-runners for MVP. So thanks for asking.”
The NBA could be forced to name another replacement for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has yet to be cleared from his calf strain. In such a scenario, a non-American player could get the nod to fill a spot on Team World.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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