Stephon Castle of Spurs gives a blunt take on defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle spoke candidly about the challenge of guarding two of the league’s elite scorers — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Whenever San Antonio matches up with Oklahoma City or Los Angeles, Castle is tasked with containing their top offensive threats. The young guard has quickly built a reputation as one of the NBA’s most promising two-way players, contributing as a scorer and efficient facilitator while also making his mark defensively.

Speaking on ESPN’s NBA Today, Castle made it clear he embraces those high-profile defensive assignments.

“I take a lot of pride in that. I ask for those matchups. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I feel like I can be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league,” Castle said. “Day in and day out, I’m just trying to prove that.”

Castle was instrumental during San Antonio’s three straight wins over the Thunder in a 12-day stretch in December, including a dominant Christmas Day victory. In one of those matchups, Gilgeous-Alexander was limited to 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting and just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. Now in his second NBA season, Castle is enjoying a breakout year.

John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

He also made history in a 138-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the youngest player ever to post a 40-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist triple-double. He finished that game with 40 points, 12 assists, 12 boards, three steals, and one block.

Meanwhile, veteran forward Harrison Barnes believes Castle deserved consideration as an All-Star replacement while Stephen Curry recovers from a knee injury ahead of All-Star Weekend. Barnes also advocated for fellow Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox.

With San Antonio sitting second in the Western Conference, Barnes argued that leaving both guards out would be unjust.

“It would be criminal if him [Castle] and Fox didn’t get a look. We’re No. 2 in the West,” Barnes said. “I think for what we’ve done, for the teams that are below us that had two All-Stars, I don’t know a case if we’re talking about impact on winning and playing high-level basketball, why either of them shouldn’t be selected and/or highly under consideration for those spots.”

Ultimately, the NBA selected Brandon Ingram of the Toronto Raptors as Curry’s replacement, while Fox was chosen to fill in for Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks for Sunday’s All-Star Game.