SAN FRANCISCO -- San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said the Rising Stars MVP trophy he hoisted Friday night isn't the only hardware he plans to win during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Castle led Team C, coached by Chris Mullin, over Team G League, coached by Jeremy Lin, to a decisive 25-14 win in the final. Castle scored 11 points and collected one of his three assists on Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George's game-winning 3-pointer.
Team C won its first group game with Castle hitting the deciding jump shot to beat Team T, coached by Tim Hardaway Sr., 40-34. (In the first two games, the target score to reach was 40; in the final, the target score was 25.)
"To be a part of the game-winning bucket in both, it means a lot," Castle said.
The Rising Stars game, made up of three teams with seven first- and second-year players and a fourth team with seven G Leaguers, was the start of a jampacked itinerary for Castle. The 6-foot-6 guard is also competing in the dunk contest Saturday night.
Asked what dunks he has planned for the showcase, Castle told ESPN: "I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say the MVP trophy isn't the only trophy I'm trying to take home."
The Rising Stars win earned Castle's team a berth in Sunday's All-Star Game, where it will go against Shaq's OGs, featuring future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
"As a basketball player, it's really all I can ask for, watching those guys all the time growing up, so to share my first All-Star Weekend with them and be able to share the court with them is a blessing," Castle told ESPN.
Castle will join Blake Griffin as the latest players to compete in events on all three nights of All-Star Weekend. Griffin did it in 2011 as a rookie for the LA Clippers.
The All-Star Game will mirror Friday's format, as four teams of eight players will compete in a mini-tournament with all three games played to the target score of 40. After particularly lackluster All-Star Games the past two years, without a whisper of defense or competitive zeal, the league changed things up with the hope of restoring interest in the February festivities.
"We're out there with nothing to lose," Castle told ESPN when asked about his young group's chances going against the Shaquille O'Neal-coached team, which also has James Harden, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown on its roster. "We're out there playing confident, playing free. So I just wouldn't count us out."
Coaching duties for Team C will be handed off from Mullin to Candace Parker for Sunday. Parker, acting as the team's general manager, selected Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson from Team M, coached by Mitch Richmond, to fill the eighth and final roster spot for her team.
Team G League reached the Rising Stars final with an upset of Team M in the second group-play game. Bryce McGowen of the Rip City Remix hit a 3-pointer to clinch the win 40-39. McGowen's closing shot was possible thanks only to Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons -- Amen's twin brother -- going 0-for-4 from the foul line with his team stuck at 37 points.
Castle and the Team C players earned $35,000 apiece for Friday's win and will get the chance to earn bragging rights against some of their veteran NBA teammates Sunday.
Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht, Phoenix Suns rookie Ryan Dunn and Golden State Warriors second-year big man Trayce Jackson-Davis will line up against James, Durant and Curry.
"I'm playing against Bron, so I get to go against one of my teammates," Knecht said. "It'll be a lot of fun to go out there and try to make a statement."
Asked if any trash talk will be exchanged between the 40-year-old James and the 23-year-old Knecht, the Lakers rookie quipped: "I usually don't start it. I usually don't start talking. I usually try to finish it."