Charles Barkley believes the San Antonio Spurs could have the next great NBA backcourt in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, comparing the young guards to Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
“If I’m a guard in the NBA, I do not want to see them boys the next 10 years. They’re going to be the new Steph and Klay,” Barkley said on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
Castle and Harper are entering their third and second NBA seasons, respectively, after already becoming important pieces of a Spurs team that reached the 2026 NBA Finals.
Castle, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, averaged 16.7 points, 7.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 68 games during his second season. He started 67 games and shot 47.1% from the field, although he made 33.2% of his three-point attempts.
Harper, selected No. 2 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 69 games while shooting 50.5% from the field. He also shot 34.3% from three-point range and earned All-Rookie Fourth Team recognition.
The Spurs already had an established star before adding Harper. Victor Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks in 64 games during the 2025-26 regular season, earning first-team All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team honors while finishing third in MVP voting and winning Defensive Player of the Year.
San Antonio finished the regular season 62-20, second in the Western Conference, before making a deep postseason run. The Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 in the first round, Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 in the semifinals and Oklahoma City Thunder 4-3 in the Western Conference Finals.
Their season ended in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, who won the championship series 4-1.
Castle’s development was particularly important to San Antonio’s rise. He led the team in assists at 7.4 per game while playing 30.0 minutes per contest, providing another primary ball-handler alongside Wembanyama.
Harper showed efficiency in a complementary role, playing 22.6 minutes per game and making 50.5% of his field-goal attempts. His 11.8 points per game ranked sixth on the Spurs, behind Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Castle, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.
