Stephon Castle's improved play and Victor Wembanyama's dominant season propel the Spurs' young core to Western Conference contention.
The San Antonio Spurs have been playing some incredible basketball and find themselves in second place in the Western Conference, just three games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And one of the biggest factors that has played into the recent success is the rise of the team's young core.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report, they pick who they think is the best NBA player at each age at the moment. The Spurs find their players on this list twice, with Stephon Castle at age 21 and Victor Wembanyama at 22.
First is Castle, who has showed a lot of improvement in his second season.
His point, rebound, and steal averages are all up from his rookie year with the Spurs, but most notable are his passing numbers. He is putting up 6.8 assists to 4.1 in his first year, showcasing his heightened ability to not just create for himself, but for others.
Even after De'Aaron Fox leaves the team for whatever reason, Castle seems to be the future of the Spurs at one of the guard spots.
And then there is the obvious choice of the best 22-year-old in the league in Victor Wembanyama.
The other three players who were on BR's ranking of the top 100 players in the league were Anthony Black of the Orlando Magic, Keyonte George of the Utah Jazz, and Detroit Pistons All-Star center Jalen Duren. While all of those guys are great in their own right, Wemby is on another level.
He is putting up numbers rarely seen by a seven-footer, much less a guy who towers over everyone at 7-4. The French phenom is averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds per game, and he is doing so on some very solid shooting percentages.
When he came into the league in the 2023 NBA Draft, he was regarded as one of, if not the best prospect, the NBA had ever seen. And he has lived up to those expectations, as high as they were.
The Spurs have been one of the best teams in the NBA through just over half the season, and a lot of it has to do with the great play from their youngsters.