The 2025-26 season is behind us, and every one is looking forward to 2026-27, where the Spurs will be the reigning Western Conference Champions with something to prove after a disappointing Finals appearance. But we can still take a quick moment to look back after the NBA released the Plays of the Year from last season, as voted by the fans.
Stephon Castle and Luke Kornet both managed to beat out their teammate Victor Wembanyama at arguably his biggest strengths, winning Dunk of the Year and Block
of the Year, respectively. Castle’s fan-favorite dunk came in Game 2 of the Conference Finals against the Thunder (which they admittedly lost), when he received a pass from Wemby at the top of the arc and drove straight down the paint for the tomahawk slam over seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein. Replays show he got the ball as high as the top of the backboard square, which is quite some hops for a 6’5” dude. (Coincidently or not, this was also the game where Hartenstein later yanked Castle down after pulling or getting his fingers tangled in his hair — you be the judge.)
Kornet’s block came in Game 7 of the same series and helped clinch a trip to the Finals for the Spurs. Clinging to a precarious six-point lead early in the fourth quarter and Wemby sitting with five fouls, Kornet chased down Hartenstein after a steal and blocked his breakaway lay-up attempt, sucking the life out of the Thunder crowd as they made a last ditch effort to come back. The play stopped a momentum swing that was building for OKC, and the Spurs held on the rest of the way.
Other winners include Nikola Jokic for Assist of the Year, Luka Doncic for best Handles, Bam Adebayo for best Performance (I’m skeptical considering the circumstances of his 83-point game, but he can have his flowers), OG Anunoby for Clutch Play of the Year (ugh, we all know what that was), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for best…Drip? (I assume that’s wardrobe, correct me if I’m wrong, Gen Z Pounders. That slang isn’t part of my Millennial vocabulary.)
Do you agree with the fans votes? Do you have other plays that had your vote, be it from the Spurs or otherwise?
