Let’s cut through the noise, Spurs fans. Two years have passed since that October 2024 Sports Illustrated piece slapped the heaviest of heavyweight labels on the Alamo City backcourt. The internet wanted Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell to be the reincarnation of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. We bought the jerseys. We made the memes. But here we are in September 2026, staring at a roster that just grinded through another brutal campaign, and the verdict is in: that comparison wasn’t just bold - it was a full-on hallucination.
We have to stop doing this to young players. Castle is a pitbull with the rock in his hands, a rising star on defense, and a guy who plays with a fire San Antonio adores. But he is not a sniper. During the 2024-25 season, he shot 28.1% from deep. That isn’t a Splash Brother; that’s the sound of cold water meeting a hot pan. Curry and Thompson have combined for over 5,800 career three-pointers. Castle hasn’t even come close to that number in minutes, let alone makes. Putting them in the same breath is a disservice to the shooting standard that rewired the NBA forever.
📊 28.1% - Stephon Castle's three-point shooting percentage during his 2024-25 rookie campaign. That is 14 full percentage points below Klay Thompson's career mark.
The comp made for a cute preseason hype video. As a season-long narrative? It died the moment Castle clanked his third open corner three in October. Let’s recall what followed: Castle lost primary ball-handling duties to a superstar, and Vassell found himself knocked down the pecking order. The "Splash 2.0" vision never adapted to the roster’s reality.
The "Fox Factor" and the Structural Nightmare
Here’s the biggest flaw in the "Splash 2.0" theory, and it’s been glued to this franchise since February 2025: De'Aaron Fox runs the show in San Antonio. He isn’t just "a guy" in the rotation; he’s the captain. When Fox inked that massive extension in July 2025, he locked in his role as the primary ball-handler and offensive engine for the rest of the decade.
That’s where the comparison crumbles structurally. Curry and Thompson thrived on symbiosis - two elite off-ball movers who could bury 40%+ from deep on high volume. Defenses had to pick their poison: chase Klay around screens or sell out to stop Steph from launching from the logo. Their gravity existed simply because they were on the floor.
Fox lives in the paint and the mid-range. He’s a downhill assassin who needs the ball to manufacture chaos. Castle, meanwhile, is a playmaking bulldog whose scoring versatility is still catching up to his athleticism. Throw Fox, Castle, and Vassell onto the court together, and you’re playing a dangerous game of "Who’s the spacer?"
| Player | Role | Primary Strength | 3PT% Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| De'Aaron Fox | Primary Ball-Handler | Rim Pressure/ISO | 33.1% |
| Stephon Castle | Secondary Creator | Defense/Playmaking | ~29% (Projected) |
| Devin Vassell | 3-and-D Wing | Catch-and-Shoot | 37.8% |
Teams begged Castle to shoot during his rookie year, and that trend hasn’t shifted enough to bend defensive schemes. Compare that to Golden State, where the mere threat of the shot tore zones apart. Fox is a fantastic player, but he doesn’t resemble Steve Nash or a traditional pick-and-roll maestro; he plays like a faster, longer Russell Westbrook. He’s the captain, which means the "Splash Brothers" motion offense is a fantasy Gregg Popovich has rightly tossed aside.
Chasing Numbers vs. Chasing Titles
Stats don’t lie, and San Antonio’s shooting problem is a statistical nightmare. The team ranked 27th in the league in three-point percentage during the 2024-25 season, connecting at a paltry 34.6% clip. Victor Wembanyama covers a multitude of sins on defense, sure, but you cannot win a modern playoff series without elite floor spacing. You just can’t.
