The pair of former UConn stars, Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan, the Nos. 4 and 7 picks in last month’s NBA Draft, shared a quick handshake into a hug at center court before tip-off at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center, where they were set to face off in NBA Summer League for the first time as foes.
Castle’s San Antonio Spurs, in their fourth game so far this summer, prevailed 83-77 despite a late run by Clingan’s Portland Trail Blazers, who cut an 18-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to just four points with under a minute left.
It was clear that it was Portland’s first game together.
Clingan shook off some early jitters after a bad pass turnover led to a drive from former San Diego State big Nathan Mensah. Clingan showed off his verticality, standing as straight as he possibly could with his arms up in the air and didn’t need to jump to record his first block.
The 7-foot-2 Bristol native shined where he was expected to shine, and finished the game with five blocks, 13 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Offensively, Clingan was never able to get into a rhythm and finished with four points on just 1-for-8 shooting from the field. None of his three 3-point attempts were close.
Castle was aggressive early as well. The two-way guard who had an impressive start in the California Classic made his first shot of the game, a 3-pointer on the wing, over a late close out from Clingan. He showed his all-around game as he finished with a game-high 22 points (8-for-21 from the field, 2-for-6 from 3), five rebounds, four assists and a steal – which came while ESPN was interviewing UConn legend Rip Hamilton, who sat courtside.
Hamilton was already in Las Vegas with his family to watch his young son, Parker, play earlier in another tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday. He told ESPN that Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, his former Detroit Pistons teammate, attended his son’s game as well.
“I couldn’t miss this game, at all,” Hamilton said. “(Billups and I) were talking about, ‘Both UConn guys are playing tonight,’ and I said, ‘Bro, I’m not missing that.’ I’ll be front and center making sure that I give props to the guys, man. What they were able to do last season was absolutely amazing. And we got a real good chance of going out there and getting a three-peat now that we got our coach back.”
Hamilton was referencing coach Dan Hurley turning down a head coaching opportunity with the Los Angeles Lakers and recently signing a new six-year deal to remain head coach of the Huskies.
No. 7 pick Donovan Clingan has 4 blocks in his #NBA2KSummerLeague debut 🚫
📺 Spurs-Blazers | ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/kQ5mpLo3Sv
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2024
Midway through the second quarter Castle hit a floater over Clingan, who Billups is “very happy” to have gotten, he told Hamilton, and Clingan answered with a hook shot for his first points in a Blazers uniform. Castle, whose future teammates Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes were sitting courtside along with head coach Gregg Popovich, answered right back with another 3-pointer over Clingan’s close out.
“I was gonna send (Clingan a text) before the game but I was like, I’m gonna wait until after because you never know how it’s gonna go,” Castle said as he was interviewed on the broadcast after the game. “But, I mean, that’s my guy. It’s really a dream come true to play against my brother in a Summer League game like this.”
Castle, who was blocked by Clingan early in the fourth quarter, went down after finishing a putback through contact and Clingan was the first over to help him up. He went down hard later in the quarter, silencing the arena as he lay holding his head. Clingan stood over him the whole time and again lended his arm to help his former teammate up.
Castle finished the game despite what appeared to be some wrist soreness.
“I love his seriousness for such a young kid,” Popovich said of his new point guard on the ESPN broadcast. “I love his pace, you see his expression never changes and he doesn’t go too fast, he doesn’t go too slow. He reads the situations and the more minutes he gets, the better he’s gonna be. He seeks contact, he’s an excellent defender and he makes wonderful decisions. So he’s gonna be a quick study I think and get to play on the court very quickly.”
Joining a young team headlined by 7-foot-4 French phenom Victor Wembanyama and newly acquired veterans Paul and Barnes, Castle has made his case to make an impact right away.
“(My coaches and teammates), they just let me rock,” Castle said after the game. “They trust in me, they trust in my ability, so I have a lot of confidence out here.”
How to watch: Former UConn men’s basketball players in NBA Summer League
