Stephon Castle and the youthful San Antonio Spurs will challenge the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder with the series opening tonight. These have looked to be the clear two best teams in the Western Conference this season, and they will meet on the appropriate stage with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.

Looking at the odds for Game 1, the Thunder enter as 6.5-point favorites and hold -245 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Spurs hold +200 odds of pulling off the outright upset, with the game total set at 221.5 points.

With the stage set, here are my favorite Stephon Castle prop bets ahead of the Western Conference Finals series opener.

Best Stephon Castle Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook

Stephon Castle Under 16.5 Points (-127)

There is plenty to like about Stephon Castle as a basketball player. He is fearless, tough, a hard-nosed defender, and has a knack for making the winning play when the team needs it. But his scoring polish is still an area that the 21-year-old could use some cleaning up in as his career progresses.

Across the regular season, Castle averaged 16.7 points per game and was held under 16.5 points in 34 of the 68 games. Since the postseason started though, the UConn product is posting averages of 19.9 points per game. He has not scored fewer than 13 points in a matchup, and has only been held to under 16.5 points in three of the 11 games played.

There should be no doubt that Castle is a big-game player. But expect the outlook to be difficult against this elite Thunder defense. Oklahoma City finished the regular season ranked second in points allowed and first in defensive rating. San Antonio’s youthful roster has done an excellent job playing with confidence and has not blinked at the moment at any point this year. But this feels like the first time the atmosphere may feel a bit different.

Across his two-year career, the scrappy guard is shooting just 44.8% from the field and 30.5% from beyond the three-point arc. This is going to be a level of defensive quality that San Antonio has not been faced with in this postseason. Expect Castle to settle in as the series progresses, but to be overwhelmed by the physicality and inability to get to his spots in tonight’s opener. Even with his strong start to the postseason in mind, 16.5 points is a bar a bit too high for my liking for the Game 1 opener on the road.

Stephon Castle Over 6.5 Assists (+111)

One area where there is a pathway to Castle making a clearer impact is as a passer. Across the regular season, last year’s Rookie of the Year posted averages of 7.4 assists per game and tallied over 6.5 assists in 39 of his 68 games. Since the playoffs started, Castle has averaged 6.1 assists per game. This is not only the best number on the Spurs, but is tied for the fifth most in the NBA with Jalen Brunson among players with at least 10 postseason games played. Castle’s 28.9% assist percentage ranks 10th among players clocking 30+ minutes per game this postseason. 

San Antonio has played well against Oklahoma City all year, with their number of capable ball handlers a driving reason for that success. However, De’Aaron Fox is banged up and still officially listed as questionable with right ankle soreness. Castle currently ranks second on the Spurs in usage rate and first in assists. These numbers will only further inflate if Fox is in any way limited.

While I have my doubts about his scoring outlook, Castle will not blink at the weight of the moment. Expect an effort to be made to put the ball in his hands and for Victor Wembanyama to be a consistent lob threat. Count on the young guard to find a way to put his imprint on this game and to do so by recording over 6.5 assists tonight.