Overview
- In a GQ feature published and widely reported Monday, guard Stephon Castle called the Madison Square Garden crowd in the 2026 NBA Finals “underwhelming” and said Oklahoma City fans were “way louder.”
- Castle also conceded that MSG became the loudest arena he had heard after OG Anunoby’s buzzer tip‑in in Game 4, which completed New York’s 29‑point comeback.
- The comments arrive with the Spurs still defined by last season’s arc in which San Antonio reached the Finals by beating Oklahoma City but lost the series to the Knicks in five games after surrendering multiple large leads.
- Castle used the interview to contrast the Spurs’ locker‑room culture with the 2012 Thunder, saying that the Spurs lack the strong egos that fractured that earlier team, and he addressed the team’s readiness at recent media day remarks.
- The remarks have become an early storyline of training camp because they have drawn quick media and fan reaction and they set up heated rematches this season, including the Spurs’ October 20 opener against Oklahoma City and a Christmas Day visit to Madison Square Garden.