Stephon Castle Explains How He Defended SGA, Compares to Jalen Brunson Matchup Ahead of NBA Finals

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle detailed his defense of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Western Conference Finals and compared it to his matchup with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson prior to the NBA Finals.

"The biggest thing I'll have to take away from that series and moving on to this one is probably my discipline, especially guarding the ball one-on-one," Castle told DeAndre Jordan in an interview on NBA TV. "Shai uses a lot of deception and pump fakes, sweep throughs and trying to keep him off the free throw line is tough at times but I think Brunson being a smaller guard is probably gonna be amplified a lot more. Just trying to keep him off his spots as much as I can."

"Knowing he likes to use those pump fakes and extra footwork," he added. "He'll dribble the ball the whole possession until he gets to his spot so just trying to stay disciplined throughout each possession, possession by possession, until we really just systematically break them down."

The Spurs punched their ticket to the Finals by taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games, as Castle guarded the two-time MVP.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 58 points while shooting 45.5 percent from the field in 43 minutes with Castle as his primary defender in the playoffs, but shot just 25.0 percent from three-point territory and committed nine turnovers compared to 15 assists (via NBA.com).

Castle averaged 16.7 points and a team-high 7.4 assists per game for the Spurs during the regular season, excelling on both ends of the floor. He received the most votes of any player that wasn't named to a 2025-26 All-Defensive Team.

Brunson praised Castle's defense ahead of their upcoming matchup.

"He's great. I think his intensity and tenacity is special," Brunson said Tuesday, per ESPN's Vincent Goodwill. "He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He's had that since I've seen him at UConn. The way he's played over these first couple years of his career, he's going to be a great player, great defender."

It's been difficult for opposing defenses to slow down Brunson during New York's playoff run, as the three-time All-Star has averaged 26.9 points per game on 48.6/35.2/83.9 shooting splits this postseason.

Game 1 between the Knicks and Spurs is on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.