Stephon Castle's Turnover Woes Continue as Thunder Tie Western Conference Finals 1-1
Not having star guard De'Aaron Fox for the San Antonio Spurs has been a major problem in the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs have assigned the point guard duties to second-year guard Stephon Castle. His inexperience, however, has been exposed in the first two games of the series.
The Spurs fell to a 122-113 Game 2 defeat on Wednesday, tying the series at 1-1. While Castle led the team in scoring with his 25 points on 58.8% shooting, his turnovers have not been helpful. Over the past two games, the former UConn guard has racked up 20 turnovers, which is the most in a two-game span in the postseason.
Stephon Castle has struggled on both ends to start the WCF.
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) May 21, 2026
Castle has 20 turnovers in the last two games, the most by a player in a 2-game span in the playoffs in the tracking era (since 1977).
SGA is 10-19 FG for 24 points with Castle as his primary defender so far in the… pic.twitter.com/JNUAv3X2SK
In Game 1, he tied Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic for the second-most turnovers in a single playoff game with 11. The Spurs took the early lead despite his in-game errors, winning 122-115 in double OT. He followed it up with a nine-turnover performance in Game 2, unfortunately.
San Antonio has missed Fox in the past two games due to injury. The two-time All-Star is their natural ballhandler, and he has dealt with right ankle soreness and a lingering left pinkie injury. In the first two games, he was a game-time decision, but the Spurs have ruled him out on both occasions.
Stephon Castle Took Accountability for His Turnover Issues
Castle knows what's at stake for the Spurs and owned up to his mistakes after the tough loss. The 21-year-old guard told the media that he knows he should take things slow and not rush anything on the offensive side.
"The biggest thing is just playing off two feet, not getting sped up," Castle said. Obviously, I didn't do a great job of that. Just trying to keep my teammates involved. Trying not to do too much on the offensive end, trying to make the simple plays as much as I can."
Spurs guard Stephon Castle, on his turnover issues: "The biggest thing is just playing off two feet, not getting sped up. Obviously, I didn't do a great job of that, but yeah, just trying to keep my teammates involved. Trying not to do too much on the offensive end." pic.twitter.com/T3c2qxpvhq
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) May 21, 2026
Castle maintained his optimism after the defeat, believing that the Spurs had an opportunity to perform well away from home.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson is aware of the challenges that the team's backcourt is facing. Aside from Fox's injury, rookie guard Dylan Harper also went down with an apparent leg injury and left the game in the middle of the third period.
"We've addressed it and we'll continue to -- just in terms of trying to help him with some of his reads, especially when he's tired," Johnson said.
Castle is No. 5 in turnovers per game in the postseason. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, he averaged 3.1. The most he had in a single game before the conference finals was seven in Game 5 against the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round.
Related: Final Injury Report for Spurs-Thunder WCF Game 2: Will De'Aaron Fox Play?
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 9:19 PM.