By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-06-02 16:12:43
2026年5月26日星期二，俄克拉荷马城佩科姆中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)（左一）在投篮训练期间与队友朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 说笑，当时他们正准备迎接与俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的西部决赛第五场对决。
他让波特兰的丹尼·阿夫迪亚 (Deni Avdija) 现出了凡人原形。
明尼苏达的安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 浑身是伤、拖着两条伤腿在场上坚持，几乎毫无机会。甚至连俄克拉荷马城的那位两届NBA MVP得主谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 也难以找到节奏。
在过去将近六周的时间里，马刺后卫卡斯尔就像一个单人破坏球，被派去横扫西部季后赛中那一整排接踵而至的全明星球员。
“我热爱这些挑战，”马刺队21岁、强壮如麦克卡车般的控球后卫卡斯尔说道，“老实说，是我主动要求去防他们的。”
如今，马刺出人意料且大大提前地闯入了总决赛，情况又怎会有所不同？
从周三在霜冻银行中心（Frost Bank Center）打响的第一场比赛开始，卡斯尔将在对阵纽约的系列赛中迎来一项任务，这与他在前三轮中所面临的挑战并无二致。
在接下来的三周里，他的任务就是让杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 的日子变成一场活生生的噩梦。
如果马刺想要夺得自2014年以来的首个NBA总冠军——并阻止纽约夺得自1973年以来的首个冠军——那么卡斯尔能否锁死这位作为尼克斯进攻发动机的三届全明星后卫，将起到至关重要的作用。
“这只是我的好胜天性，”卡斯尔在谈到自己毫不留情的防守态度时说道，“我太想赢了，为了赢球我可以付出一切。如果这意味着每晚要防守对方最好的球员40分钟，那我就去防。”
在尼克斯队，那个人就是布伦森。
自2022年从达拉斯加盟纽约以来，布联森——这位从曾经的次轮秀蜕变为最佳阵容常客的球星——在与马刺的六次交锋中场均砍下31.7分。
这其中就包括2024年3月，这位身高6英尺2英寸（约1米88）的控卫在圣安东尼奥的一场加时赛中，在马刺头上狂砍职业生涯新高的61分（尽管那场比赛尼克斯最终落败）。
在本赛季对阵马刺的三场比赛中，布伦森虽然依旧高效，但得分爆发力有所减弱，其中包括12月在拉斯维加斯进行的尼克斯夺得NBA杯冠军的那场比赛。
在这三场交锋中，29岁的布伦森场均得到26分，但投篮命中率仅为41.8%（67投28中）。
毫无疑问，这在一定程度上要归功于“卡斯尔效应”。
马刺主帅米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 谈到卡斯尔：“在公开场合，我可能最少谈论他。但在私底下，我可能谈论他最多。……当你想到他在防守端和进攻端所做的一切时，这会带你进入一些极其罕见的领域。” pic.twitter.com/JVerTUL3wI
— 马刺国度 (@ Spurs_Nation) 2026年6月2日
“没有哪天晚上他不是在防守对方最好的球员，”马刺前锋尚帕尼说道，“如果没有他的那股狠劲，我们走不到今天这一步。”
至于卡斯尔自己，他很容易就指出了马刺如何成为自1977年波特兰开拓者队以来闯入总决赛最年轻的球队。
“因为我们的球队里有世界上最好的球员，”卡斯尔说。
在卡斯尔心中，那个人就是维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)——这位22岁的全明星中锋、全票通过的NBA年度最佳防守球员。他在2023年选秀中以状元秀身份加盟，为马刺本赛季重返季后赛铺平了道路。
同样地，如果没有在文班亚马降临圣安东尼奥后第二年被选中的那名球员，马刺大概也无法走到这里。
那就是卡斯尔，他在2024年选秀中在首轮第四顺位被康涅狄格大学选中——并且不知何故，他最终依然成为了那届选秀中的“最大遗珠”。
作为一名真正意义上的攻防兼备型球员，卡斯尔在季后赛中场均得到19.2分，是马刺队的第二得分手。
“就能量输出而言，当你想到他在防守和进攻两端所做的一切时，这会让你联想到一些你可能甚至不敢轻易提及的伟大名字，”马刺主帅约翰逊说，“这与维克托类似，因为在我们的每一次进攻和防守中，他基本上都处于核心位置，而且他（还）总是直接面对球。这确实是非常罕见的境界。”
的确，卡斯尔在半场比赛中都像超级胶水一样死死黏在对手的球衣上，他绕过、有时甚至直接撞开掩护，以保持贴身防守。
他就像一个行走的“活淤青”，但不知何故，他给对手施加的肉搏惩罚总是比自己承受的还要多。
“年轻就是我的本钱，”卡斯尔说。
在整个常规赛以及季后赛的每一轮中，卡斯尔都做好了迎接任何战斗的准备。他将自己身高6英尺6英寸（约1米98）、体重220磅、犹如米开朗基罗雕塑般完美强壮的身体投入到激烈的对抗中，在身后留下了一大批被他击败的全明星球员。
卡斯尔防守端的封锁杰作出现在西部决赛中，当时他协助将实力强劲的吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的投篮命中率限制在仅有40.9%。
接下来进入卡斯尔瞄准镜的是布伦森，他将带来一个不同且艰巨的挑战。
“到了这个阶段，他几乎见识过所有的防守策略，”卡斯尔说，“他被用各种方式防守过。所以（我）只想尽我所能地贯彻我的意志，并利用我的身体对抗。”
如果卡斯尔得逞，布伦森甚至在做梦时都无法摆脱他的魔爪。
与此同时，布伦森也已经做好准备，去迎接来自那个难以遏制、无处不在的卡斯尔的挑战。
“他的防守强度和韧性非常特别，”布伦森说，“他打球时带着一股证明自己的狠劲。……这是你必须针对性制定战术并聪明应对的家伙。”
尼克斯后卫杰伦·布伦森谈到卡斯尔：“我认为他的防守强度和韧性非常特别。他打球时带着一股证明自己的狠劲。……从他职业生涯前几年的表现来看，他会成为一名伟大的球员、伟大的防守者。他非常强硬。” pic.twitter.com/rXAuK3gIdO
— 马刺国度 (@ Spurs_Nation) 2026年6月2日
曾几何时，出生于亚特兰大的卡斯尔并没有把防守视为自己的招牌。
这一切在卡斯尔效力于康涅狄格大学（UConn）的唯一一个大学赛季里发生了改变，当时他的主教练是激情火爆的丹·赫利 (Dan Hurley)。
“我在康涅狄格大学凭借防守取得的成功，以及理解了为了赢球我们有多么需要防守，这让防守自然而然地成为了我比赛的一部分，”卡斯尔说，“在去康大之前，我从没觉得防守是我的强项。但现在我这么认为了。”
康涅狄格大学凭借卡斯尔的防守一路高歌猛进，夺得了2024年的NCAA全国总冠军。两年后，马刺队希望在NBA总决赛中复制同样的成功。
“当你做对的时候，防守是很有趣的，”卡斯尔说，“我知道防守对赢球有多么重要。”
那些本周只能在家里观看总决赛、但至少已经从卡斯尔的魔掌中解脱出来的一众全明星球员们，完全可以证明这一点。
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Why Stephon Castle holds the key in the Spurs' fight with the Knicks
Why Stephon Castle holds the key in the Spurs’ fight with the Knicks
San Antonio Spurs’ Stephon Castle, from left, laughs while talking to his teammates Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell during shootaround at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, as they prepare for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He made Portland’s Deni Avdija look mostly mortal.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, banged up and playing two bad legs, hardly stood a chance. Even the two-time NBA MVP in Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, struggled to find a rhythm.
For the better part of the past six weeks, Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been a one-man wrecking ball deployed to lay waste to a conga line of All-Stars in the Western Conference playoffs.
“I love those challenges,” said Castle, the Spurs’ 21-year-old Mack truck of a point guard. “I ask for them, to be honest with you.”
Why should it be any different now that the Spurs have arrived, improbably and so far ahead of schedule, at the NBA Finals?
Beginning with Game 1 on Wednesday at the Frost Bank Center, Castle enters the series against New York with a task not unlike the one he has faced in the previous three rounds.
For the next three weeks, his job is to make Jalen Brunson’s life a living nightmare.
If the Spurs are to win their first NBA championship since 2014 — and deny New York its first title since 1973 — Castle’s ability to bottle up the three-time All-Star guard at the trigger of the Knicks’ offense will prove crucial.
“It’s just my competitive nature,” Castle said of his take-no-prisoners approach to playing defense. “I just want to win so bad, I’ll do whatever it takes. It that means guarding the other team’s best player for 40 minutes a night, that’s what I’ll do.”
On the Knicks, that player is Brunson.
Since arriving in New York from Dallas in 2022, Brunson — a former second-round pick turned All-NBA mainstay — has averaged 31.7 points in six meetings with the Spurs.
That includes a career-high 61-point performance the 6-foot-2 point guard dumped on the Spurs in an overtime loss in San Antonio in March 2024.
Brunson was productive but less prolific in three games against the Spurs this season, including the Knicks’ NBA Cup championship win in December in Las Vegas.
The 29-year-old Brunson averaged 26 points in those three meetings, but shot 41.8% (28 of 67) from the field.
Part of that, certainly, is due to the Castle effect.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, on Stephon Castle: “I probably talk the least about him publicly. I probably talk most about him privately. … When you think about what he’s doing defensively and offensively, it takes you to some really rare territory.” pic.twitter.com/JVerTUL3wI
— Spurs Nation (@ Spurs_Nation) June 2, 2026
“There is not a night where he’s not guarding the opposing team’s best player,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. “We wouldn’t be this far without his relentlessness.”
Castle, for his part, has little trouble diagnosing how the Spurs became the youngest team to reach the NBA Finals since the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
“We have the best player in the world on our team,” Castle said.
In Castle’s mind, that would be Victor Wembanyama, the 22-year-old All-Star center and unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year whose arrival as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft greased the skids for the Spurs’ return to the playoffs this season.
Likewise, the Spurs likely would not be here without the player drafted the year after Wembanyama touched down in San Antonio.
That would be Castle, who was selected fourth overall out of Connecticut in 2024 – and somehow still ended up the steal of the draft.
A two-way player in the truest sense of the phrase, Castle ranks as the Spurs’ second-leading scorer in the playoffs at 19.2 points per game.
“In terms of output of energy, when you think about what he’s doing defensively and offensively, it takes you to some really rare territory of names that you may not want to say,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s similar to Victor in terms of he’s basically in the middle of every single play for us offensively and defensively, but he’s (also) on the basketball. That’s some very rare air.”
Indeed, Castle spends half the game superglued to his opponents’ jersey, weaving around and sometimes barreling through screens to stay attached.
He is a human contusion who somehow still dishes out more punishment than he takes.
“I have the luxury of being young,” Castle said.
Throughout the regular season, and with each passing round of the playoffs, Castle has been up for any fight, throwing his 6-foot-6, 220-pound Michaelangelo sculpture of a body into the fray and leaving a pile of vanquished All-Stars in his wake.
Castle’s coup de shutdown came in the Western Conference finals, when he helped limit the prodigious Gilgeous-Alexander to 40.9% shooting.
Up next in Castle’s crosshairs: Brunson, who provides a different, difficult challenge.
“At this point, he’s seen pretty much every coverage,” Castle said. “He’s been guarded all kinds of ways. So (I) just try to impose my will and use my physicality however I can.”
If Castle has his way, Brunson will not be able to escape his claws, even in his sleep.
Brunson, meanwhile, is bracing for what he will face from the irrepressible, omnipresent Castle.
“His intensity and tenacity is special,” Brunson said. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder. … Something you have to game plan for and just be smart.”
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, on Stephon Castle: “I think his intensity and tenacity is special. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. … The way he’s played over these first couple years of his career, he’s going to be a great player, great defender. He’s tough.” pic.twitter.com/rXAuK3gIdO
— Spurs Nation (@ Spurs_Nation) June 2, 2026
There was a time when the Atlanta-born Castle did not consider defense to be his calling card.
That changed in Castle’s one college season playing for UConn and its firebrand head coach, Dan Hurley.
“The success I had at UConn with it and understanding how much of that was needed for us to win, it became natural for that to be a part of my game,” Castle said. “I don’t think I ever saw it before UConn as a strong suit of mine. Now I do.”
UConn rode Castle’s defense to a 2024 NCAA national championship. Two years later, the Spurs are hoping for similar success in the NBA Finals.
“It’s fun to do when you do it right,” Castle said. “I know how big a part of it is to winning.”
A litany of All-Stars, watching the Finals from home this week but at least freed from Castle’s clutches, can attest to that.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News