Just when it appeared that San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle had a shot to make All-NBA, his hopes took a major hit. The NBA ruled that Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic are eligible for end-of-season awards because of extraordinary circumstances, and that matters for Castle.
Castle has been the Spurs' second-best player this season, even though De'Aaron Fox made the All-Star team over him. Victor Wembanyama missed the All-Star team in his rookie season but still made All-NBA, a reminder that late-season voting can open a door even when an early All-Star nod does not.
Castle's case rested on other stars being knocked out of the running. The new rulings leave him needing more help than before, because his path to All-NBA was already tied to Cunningham, Doncic and Anthony Edwards being ruled ineligible. The league rejected Edwards' claim of extraordinary circumstances, which further narrows the route.
The timing is what gives Castle's numbers their weight. From February on, he averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists while shooting 40.3% from 3 on 3.3 attempts per game. That stretch is the backbone of his argument, and it is why the Spurs will keep pointing to stephon castle as one of the season's most improved young players even as the award path gets harder to walk.
What comes next is simple enough to see. Castle's production gives San Antonio a real case to make, but the league's awards rules have now made that case far less dependent on merit than on who else is ruled eligible around him.