The NBA on Monday named San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle the Western Conference Player of the Week and Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from February 2-8, the league’s 16th week of the 2025-26 season.
Castle paces unbeaten Spurs
Castle, last season’s Rookie of the Year, steered San Antonio to a 3-0 record while averaging 24.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 block in 26.7 minutes per game. The 21-year-old shot 63.0% from the field, 36.4% from three-point range and 76.9% at the foul line.
The week’s signature performance came Saturday against Dallas, when the former UConn standout posted a career-best 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting (78.9%), along with 12 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals in 32 minutes. According to the league, he became the youngest player ever to record a 40-12-12 game, surpassing Oscar Robertson, and just the second player to log a 40-point triple-double while shooting at least 75%, joining Wilt Chamberlain (three times).
“I don’t know, something about this day,” Castle said with a smile after matching the one-year anniversary of his previous career-high 33-point outing.
Johnson continues triple-double surge
Johnson, a 2026 All-Star, guided Atlanta to a 2-1 week by averaging 27.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 11.3 assists and 1.0 steal on 54.4% shooting overall. The fifth-year forward recorded two triple-doubles, lifting his season total to 10—most in the Eastern Conference and second in the NBA behind Nikola Jokić (18). No other player has ever reached 10 triple-doubles in an entire Hawks career, let alone one season.
The honor is Johnson’s second of the campaign; he previously won the award in November.
Additional nominees
Western Conference nominees included Portland’s Donovan Clingan and Jerami Grant, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III and Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. Eastern Conference nominees were Toronto’s Scottie Barnes; New York’s Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns; Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid; Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell; and Milwaukee’s Ryan Rollins.
Source: Hoops Rumors
