Stephon Castle got the entire class into trouble on Tuesday.
Castle and the San Antonio Spurs faced off against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Tex. But the matchup got off to an inauspicious start after a crooked rim led to a roughly 20-minute delay before the opening tip.
We've got a delay for a crooked rim in Houstonpic.twitter.com/cffncUPMvI
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 21, 2026
The game was nationally televised on NBC, and the broadcast was able to secure an incriminating video of Castle seemingly being the culprit for the delay. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year decided to hang on the rim after a two-handed dunk during pregame warmups, apparently resulting in the basket becoming crooked.
So Stephon Castle is to blame for the faulty rim that has delayed the start of the Spurs-Rockets game #NBA pic.twitter.com/BO7oGzfYXW
— adry torres (@AdryTorresNYC) January 21, 2026
Castle, 21, is in fairness a very high flier. He already competed in the Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie last season and is known as one of the bouncier point guards in the league today.
In fact, Castle did not become at all gun-shy after his delay mishap on Tuesday and proceeded to throw down a crazy windmill dunk-of-the-year candidate during the third quarter against the Rockets.
STEPHON CASTLE WINDMILL DUNK
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 21, 2026
OH MY GOODNESS.
pic.twitter.com/3QVsG5YcLS
Also a former national champion with UConn, Castle is averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game this season for the 30-13 Spurs. But he has had some less glamorous moments this year too, including both that delay and also getting taunted by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during a recent loss.
