San Antonio Spurs
Unexpected gift: Stephon Castle's slow rise
The San Antonio Spurs won the lottery last season as they drafted Victor Wembanyama in the 2023 NBA Draft. He's a player that has not only completely transformed the team's roster and potential, but also their overall outlook as a franchise. As he continues to improve, that is only going to continue to be the case. However, one of the bigger unexpected gifts for the Spurs this season revolves around the slow rise of Stephon Castle. After an extremely slow start to this rookie season, Castle has continued to make strides over the last few weeks.
While he may not be ready to completely take over the reins at the point guard position at the moment, there are signs that he will be a promising player for the Spurs in the future. At least for now, it does appear as if San Antonio made the right move by selecting him with their top 5 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. If he continues at this pace, he should get some NBA Rookie of the Year love and could end up winning the award if he is able to take another step forward in his development in the second half of the season.
Toronto Raptors
Unexpected gift: Gradey Dick's huge step forward
The Toronto Raptors continue to operate under the radar in the Eastern Conference but their talent can't be overlooked all that much. This is a team that has continued to show signs of improvement and one that should feel strongly about where their rebuild is heading. They've had a bit of bad luck when it comes to injuries to start the season and that has played at least a small role in the lack of overall winning the team has experienced. Nevertheless, there is one young player that continues to make waves.
That's Gradey Dick. His development this season should be considered an unexpected gift that the Raptors should feel good about moving forward. Dick is averaging 19 points and three rebounds on 42 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from 3-point range. I'm not sure what his ceiling can be in the NBA but there's no question that he's absolutely on the right path as he continues to blossom as a young talent for the Raptors.