ROTY favorite Stephon Castle falls prey to brutal prank from Spurs veterans using his car

San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle could not escape the rookie hazing tradition as he fell prey to a brutal prank by his team's veterans following their 126-116 home win against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Unlike the typical popcorn in the car prank, the Spurs removed all four tyres from Castle's white Toyota Supra as the veterans watched in amusement while the rookie approached the parked vehicle. Spurs’ guard Devin Vassell filmed the moment and shared it on his Instagram story.

Later, Spurs star De'Aaron Fox revealed that Castle has been exempt from the typical rookie responsibilities that other players must perform. These may include singing a song in front of home fans, buying the squad donuts or other harmless duties.

“Steph doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t do any rookie duties, which is crazy to me,” Fox said.

Selected fourth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, Stephon Castle currently leads the Rookie of the Year race as the San Antonio Spurs look set to have back-to-back winners after Victor Wembanyama won the award last season. Castle is averaging 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 42.5% from the field as the Spurs sit 12th in the Western Conference with a 27-37 record.

Stephon Castle earns approval from Mavericks coach

Following the first game of the San Antonio Spurs' back-to-back matchups against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Mavs coach Jason Kidd had high praise for Stephon Castle. Accoridng to the Hall of Famer, Castle has established himself as one of the top rookies in the league.

"I think when you talk about Castle, his athleticism (and) understanding how to play the game (stand out)," Kidd said. "He has one of the best mentors in Chris Paul. You can see that he has a rhythm. He is starting to understand it and is playing at a high level. I would definitely think he is one of the top rookies in this league, if not the No. 1 rookie right now."

Castle registered 14 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals off the bench against the Mavericks in the first of two matchups, which concluded in a 133-129 home loss for the Spurs.

Though the rookie guard had a reduced output of eight points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in the second game on Wednesday, the Spurs bounced back with a 126-116 victory to go 1-1 in the two-game set.