Stephon Castle sounds off on Thunder’s ‘luxury’ against Victor Wembanyama after Game 5

Stephon Castle sounds off on Thunder’s ‘luxury’ against Victor Wembanyama after Game 5 originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The San Antonio Spurs are one loss away from going home and it stings even more because of how Tuesday night unfolded. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Spurs with a convincing 127-114 victory in Game 5, suffocating San Antonio’s offense to just 40.2% shooting from the field while limiting Victor Wembanyama to 20 points and six rebounds. 

The worst part? It was his lowest-scoring performance of the Western Conference Finals. Most importantly, it was a sharp drop-off from his 33-point game in Game 4.

His teammate Stephon Castle wasn’t going to sit quietly after the game. The second-year guard led San Antonio with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting while battling deep foul trouble. During the post game presser, he made his frustrations about the officiating clear in the postgame presser. 

Castle called out a double standard in how the game was called, saying, “the way they guard, how physical they are… we don’t get that same luxury to be able to play as physical on the other end at times.”

Stephon Castle CALLED OUT OKC and the refs:

“The way they guard, how physical they are… we don’t get that same luxury to be able to play as physical on the other end at times” pic.twitter.com/MY6HR68tfV

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) May 27, 2026

His complaint matches the film. Isaiah Hartenstein’s physical interior presence has been a recurring problem for Wembanyama throughout this series, wearing him down on the boards and in the paint. Hartenstein finished Game 5 with 12 points and 15 rebounds, helping OKC win the paint battle convincingly. 

Meanwhile, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson acknowledged after the game that Wemby was going to need to score more than 20 points and attempt more than 15 shots going forward. But that is going to be tough if the refs keep letting the Thunder treat him like a punching bag without calling fouls.

The frustration extended beyond Castle. Wembanyama skipped media availability entirely after the final buzzer, walking straight out of the locker room to the team bus. It was a rare move for the franchise cornerstone, especially heading into an elimination game.

Game 6 tips off Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET back in San Antonio. The Spurs need a win to force a Game 7, and Wembanyama needs a bounce-back performance just like he did in Game 4. But with everyone on the Spurs calling out the refs, how the next game gets called is definitely on everyone’s mind.

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