Stephon Castle shot 33.2% from 3-point range last season. Trainer Olin Simplis explained the Spurs guard's shooting in the offseason.
NBA skills trainer Olin Simplis has San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle working on his shot sequence this summer, and the trainer laid out the mechanics for Ratings' Mark Medina. Castle shot 33.2% from 3-point range last season.
Simplis goes by nickhame "The Guard Whisperer.'' He founded Basketball's Finest Training Academy in 2002, grew up in Los Angeles after being born in Belize City, and has worked with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Evan Mobley. Carter Bryant trains with him too. ClutchPoints posted footage from one of the Castle sessions on July 22.
Simplis said fatigue is the thing he is working against.
"With Steph, it's also about making sure that we create the proper energy and synergy on every rep," Simplis said. "He's such a high-volume guy defensively that sometimes his sequence in his shooting patterns is off. So I think fatigue sets in."
"If you don't have the proper energy from the ground through your shot line, sometimes the ball reaches the pocket later than it's supposed to during your sequence," Simplis continued.
Castle averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.4 assists last season, with 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks. He turned it over 3.2 times a game.
The assists led the Spurs and ranked eighth in the league. So did his 19.6 assist points created. Castle also led San Antonio in passes, touches per game, time of possession, and average seconds per touch, and he led in all four again in the playoffs.
Two of his triple-doubles came before he turned 22. Only one other player in franchise history has more than one of those.
San Antonio took Castle fourth overall in 2024, out of UConn, where he was Big East Freshman of the Year on a national title team. He won Rookie of the Year on April 29, 2025, after averaging 14.7 points across 81 games and shooting 423-of-989 from the field. From 3-point range he went 28.7% that year.
He grew up in Covington, Georgia, and played at Newton High School, where he averaged 20.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists as a senior. Recruiting services moved him from four stars to five. He played in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Game.
His rookie season closed with the ball in his hands. Over the last 18 games, with De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama out, Castle averaged 19.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 30.9 minutes on 44/29/75 shooting.
On Feb. 7, 2025, he scored 33 in a 117-116 loss to Charlotte. Ten days later he reached the final round of the Slam Dunk Contest and lost to Mac McClung.
The 2026 Finals were his second season's close, and the shooting numbers there were the worst part of it. Game 3 came at Madison Square Garden on June 8.
Castle signed a two-year, $18.67 million contract in July 2024. San Antonio exercised the $10.02 million team option for 2026-27 last October.
