Alongside Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle are expected to have excellent NBA careers and were recently compared to two overlooked veterans, both of whom are known as all-time winners.
On the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama is front and center, but he's not the only young player with a Hall-of-Fame ceiling.
Stephon Castle has cemented himself as the best player in the 2024 NBA Draft, and Dylan Harper usurped De'Aaron Fox as the best point guard on the roster in the playoffs. The Spurs remained committed to Fox--for now--but it's only a matter of time before the Spurs unleash a lineup with three young stars.
Wembanyama's stardom has already transcended basketball and has been compared to Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan as one of the most marketable athletes ever. While he soaks up the praise, Harper and Castle were compared to legends, too.
Harper and Castle Earn Winning Praise
If you think about the NBA's all-time winners, a lot of Spurs are on the list. Sure, Jordan, Bill Russell, and Kobe Bryant are known as elite competitors, but Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are the winningest trio ever.
At least one of the Spurs' young stars is built from the same mold.
"I think we eventually are gonna reach that point where we're saying, 'Why is Dylan Harper not starting games? Why is Dylan Harper not out there?'" prefaced Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor. "And maybe he'll be a finisher. Maybe he's destined to be their Manu Ginobili, coming off the bench, playing a pivotal role, finishing games, and that's perfectly okay as long as he, as long as he accepts that."
Ginobili, during his peak, was one of the best players in the world. Had he taken on a 1-A option, his career would have been comparable to James Harden's. He had the scoring and playmaking chops, as well as the flair.
Instead, though, Ginobili decided to play a winning role and was rewarded with four titles and a first-ballot Hall of Fame nod.
Castle, too, is expected to sacrafice stats in the name of winning.
"I view Castle more as an Iguodala type in that he doesn't need to be a primary creator," O'Connor added. "It's a bonus when he has those nights where he just can't stop making shots. But I don't think you're gonna expect that every night from Stephon Castle. But if he does become that, again, it's another path, another guy who can become that type of player for San Antonio that just takes them to a whole new level with Harper and Castle."
From 2006-10, Andre Iguodala averaged an elite 18.5 points as one of the league's best defenders. He's better known, of course, for taking a back seat on the Golden State Warriors' dynasty, winning four rings in a smaller bench role.
It's hard to imagine Castle moving to the second unit, but it's easy to see him stepping up in a postseason run like Iguodala was known to.
Iguodala was one of the league's best role-players. Ginobili was one of the most eager teammates to ever grace the court. And with Wembanyama, the Spurs have a transcendent star who can lead the way.
