NBA Rising Stars: Spurs' Stephon Castle named MVP of showcase game
San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle on Friday was unanimously named the Most Valuable Player of the 2025 NBA Rising Stars Game after winning the championship in San Francisco, California.
Castle produced 12 points, three rebounds and two assists to lead Team C to a 25-14 win over Team G League to claim the title for Hall of Fame coach Chris Mullin. The team won on a 3-pointer by Keyonte George, which was set up on a cross-court pass from Castle.
Team C trailed 12-8 early but went on a timely run to down the team of G Leaguers coached by former nine-year veteran and champion Jeremy Lin. They finished the game on a 17-2 spurt, with Castle accounting for six points alone during that span.
Your 2025 #CastrolRisingStars MVP: @StephonCastle! pic.twitter.com/Vr8AzBTf7J
— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2025
The pool of players for the annual showcase consisted of 10 rookies, 11 second-year players and seven players from the G League. Hall of Famers Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway Sr. served as the other two honorary coaches and were in charge of drafting their respective teams.
Team C defeated Team T 40-34 in the first matchup of the evening on a game-winning jump shot by Castle. George paced the group with 10 points in that contest, while Dalton Knecht had seven points and Castle added six points, four rebounds and four assists.
Team C will now advance to play Sunday in the All-Star Game, which features a similar four-team, three-game tournament for the first time. They will face the team drafted by Shaquille O'Neal in the semifinal, headlined by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and James Harden, among others.
Here is how the teams performed in the event:
Player
Semifinal
Final
Keyonte George
10 points, 1 assist
3 points, 2 rebounds
Dalton Knecht
7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Stephon Castle
6 points, 4, rebounds, 4 assists
12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Trayce Jackson-Davis
6 points
N/A
Jaylen Wells
5 points, 2 rebounds
1 rebound
Zach Edey
4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
2 points, 2 rebounds
Ryan Dunn
2 points, 3 assists
3 points, 2 rebounds
Team G League advanced to the final after knocking off Team M 40-39 on a game-winning 3-pointer from Bryce McGowens. They capitalized late after Team M went cold from the free-throw line with a chance to win, missing five consecutive attempts with 37 points.
Overall, the group of the top players in the G League ran out of steam against Team C in the championship game. They impressed in spurts and looked like they belonged on a national stage against the top first- and second-year players the NBA had to offer.
Player
Semifinal
Final
Leonard Miller
14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Bryce McGowens
12 points, 2 steals, 1 rebound
2 points
JD Davison
5 points, 1 rebound
2 rebounds, 1 assists
Mac McClung
5 points, 2 assists
N/A
Dink Pate
4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
5 points, 1 rebound
Reed Sheppard
2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal
1 rebound
Pat Spencer
2 rebounds
2 points, 3 rebounds
Team M lost 40-39 in the second game of the night to Team G League on a game-winning 3-pointer by Bryce McGowens. The score remained close throughout the game, with nine lead changes as neither team was ahead by more than four points.
The team coached by Mitch Richmond had its opportunities to seal the win but went cold toward the end of the game. With 37 points on the scoreboard, they missed five straight free throws to allow Team G League to stay within striking distance and eventually win.
Amen Thompson produced 11 points, two rebounds and two assists to lead Team M, Toumani Camara scored eight points and two rebounds and Bub Carrington had five points and four assists. Ausar Thompson, Bilal Coulibaly and Matas Buzelis each had four points and Julian Strawther added three points.
Team C fell behind 19-7 early in the first game of the evening and could not recover from that deficit. They managed to cut the lead down to four points several times and had an opportunity late to get closer, but a turnover by Anthony Black led to the eventual game-winning shot by Stephon Castle.
Gradey Dick led all scorers in the game with 12 points and one assist, while Tristan da Silva had five points and Zaccharie Risacher, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Black each added four points. Alexandre Sarr had three points and Brandin Podziemski rounded out the scoring with two points.
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: NBA Rising Stars: Spurs' Stephon Castle named MVP of showcase game
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