Castle's win marked the second time in more than a half-century that one franchise went back-to-back with the top-rookie honor. Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins (now of Miami) and Karl-Anthony Towns (now of New York) were voted rookies of the year in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Castle follows 2023-24 recipient Victor Wembanyama and is the fourth ROY winner in franchise history, also joining David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells and Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher were the other finalists for the award.

Defender Roger Ibanez said Al-Ahli's players were fully behind head coach Matthias Jaissle after the Jeddah-based side reached the final of the Asian Champions League Elite on Tuesday, three months after the German was widely expected to be sacked.