Charles Barkley Says Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle Could Be NBA’s Next Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson
· Yahoo Sports
Charles Barkley has often made bold NBA predictions and comparisons, but his most recent one is especially noteworthy. During an interview with Bill Simmons, the NBA legend claimed he has found a duo that could be the NBA’s next Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
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“First of all, those two guards, I don’t want to see them for the next 10 years if I’m a guard in the NBA,” Barkley said on The Bill Simmons Podcast about the Spurs’ young backcourt in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
“If I’m a guard in the NBA, I do not want to see them, boys, for the next 10 years. They’re going to be the best. They’re going to be the new Steph and Klay.”
Stephon Castle ended 2025-26 averaging 17.0 points, 7.1 assists, and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 46.8% from the field and 33.7% from behind the three-point line in 91 games (including the playoffs).
Meanwhile, Dylan Harper averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 2025-26 while shooting 50.7% from the field and 34.0% from beyond the arc, including the playoffs, in 92 games, mostly coming off the bench.
Both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have never finished a season with fewer than 38.0% shooting from threes on average (except 2019-20, when Curry sat out the season after only five games played).
Now, just to be clear, Barkley is not comparing the style of play to say their three-point shooting would be on par with the Splash Brothers. The aforementioned stats make it clear this isn’t a three-point shooting comparison.
But he is talking about the fear that opponents had of facing a backcourt that is so much in sync that they were almost unguardable in their prime. Charles Barkley was not impressed with De’Aaron Fox during the playoffs and hopes to see Harper replace him in the starting lineup long term.
Stephon Castle is closer to an engine-type scorer like Stephen Curry, who can also facilitate well. Dylan Harper can flourish as a secondary scorer, benefiting from the defensive attention that Castle can draw, just like Klay Thompson did with Curry.
The greatest backcourt compliment in basketball is to refer to someone as the next Curry or Thompson. Together, those two won four titles, destroyed defenses, and shaped a decade.
Castle and Harper don’t yet have the accolades to support that, but Barkley claimed they would own opposing guards for the next ten years. In just Harper’s rookie year, this backcourt has already reached the NBA Finals once.
But to say that they would have the same impact on the league as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson would be a bit too far-fetched, especially if we factor in a player like Victor Wembanyama.
The Warriors got Kevin Durant in 2016 only after Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had already established themselves as stars in the league. But here, the dynamic of who dictates the scoring and ball-handling, and who becomes a bigger threat on opposing scouting reports among the three talented players, is what differentiates this situation from the Warriors.
I feel that while Barkley is correct to give this backcourt duo their flowers for exceeding expectations this early in their careers, it is unfair to Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper to burden them in less than three years played in the league with similar expectations as the arguably greatest backcourt duo to ever play in the league.