Stephan Castle: Oklahoma City Was Louder Than MSG
Spurs guard Stephan Castle said Madison Square Garden's Game 1 atmosphere fell short of its reputation, calling Oklahoma City's crowd far louder during the Finals run.
Stephan Castle, the San Antonio guard, said the Madison Square Garden crowd did not live up to its reputation during Game 1 of the NBA Finals against New York, and pointed to Oklahoma City as the louder venue on the road to the title.
"In the first game the atmosphere was rather calm. We had been told it would be far more raucous there. Oklahoma City was much louder than the Garden," Castle said in an interview with GQ.
Castle, a 20-year-old guard who took NBA Rookie of the Year honours for San Antonio last season, was speaking after the Spurs lost the Finals to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The result also featured in LeBron James's recent comments to ESPN, in which the 41-year-old forward said he had once pictured finishing his career at the Garden before New York's win over San Antonio settled the question for him.
Castle's remarks read as a mild correction of the Garden's standing among NBA crowds, set against a run that, by all accounts, ended in disappointment for San Antonio on the biggest stage.
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