COVINGTON, GA. — Stephon Castle made history on Wednesday night as the 19-year-old Covington native catapulted from freshman national champion to the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Castle was taken by the San Antonio Spurs in a move that not only bolstered the rebuilding franchise’s roster, but boosted the euphoria of an already sports-crazed Newton County community.
We’ll talk more later about why this is such a major deal for the community, but for now, here are three quick takes about Castle’s Draft night.
1. The Perfect landing spot. When you’re talking about a young, NBA-draft-ready player who still has copious upside to max out, there aren’t many better landing spots than the San Antonio Spurs. A veteran coach in Greg Popovich. A proven front office that knows how to build what it wants its franchise to become, and does so methodically. A franchise that’s one of the NBA’s best in terms of player development. Not to mention being paired with one of the league’s biggest and fastest-rising stars in Victor Wembanyama. You couldn’t have drawn up a much better plan for the 6-foot-6 Covington native. He’ll be able to bring immediate impact to a rebuilding Spurs squad with his defensive tenacity and court savvy while also continuing his development in a place known for pushing players to their limits. It’s a win-win for both sides.
2. Add another feather in Newton County athletics’ cap. In an almost eerie bit of foreshadowing, Newton County Schools superintendent Dr. Duke Bradley declared on the latest epsiode of The Town Square Podcast this week that Newton County puts out more Division I and professional-level athletic talent than any other county in Georgia, per capita — something I’ve been saying for years now. Castle’s selection just proves it. Just in the last seven years you’ve had Ashton Hagans, Isaiah Miller, J.D. Notae and now Stephon Castle to blaze a trail from 1 Ram Way to inking a contract as a professional basketball player. There may even be more who escape my memory right now. But one day we’re going to round up a list of all the talent we can think of and prove that Newton County has one of the most robust athletic scenes in Georgia, despite its size. And the proof of that seems to keep adding up annually.
3. The Covington community is proud — Understatement of the year. A quick perusal of any social media platform gives a more-than-adequate snapshot of just how much Castle’s Lottery Pick selection in the 2024 NBA Draft means to the Greater Covington/Newton County community.
Scores of well-wishers took to Facebook, X, Instagram and any other platform you could think of expressing similar sentiments. One person went so far as to predict that “All of Covington, GA is glued to their TVs” in expectation of seeing one of its native son’s drafted within the top draft’s top five selections. Wednesday will go down as an historic night for Covington and Newton County residents, but it’s just the beginning for Castle as he embarks on a new chapter with one of the NBA’s most storied franchises.
