When the Philadelphia 76ers cut him with no warning on Feb. 15, 2023, Julian Champagnie says he thought his NBA career might be over; a day later the San Antonio Spurs claimed the 24‑year‑old off waivers, and he has spent the months since proving them wrong.
Champagnie’s turnaround is now center stage: he averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in the playoffs, shot 45 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from beyond the arc, and finished as San Antonio’s sixth‑leading scorer in the postseason while growing into a starter alongside Victor Wembanyama.
Those numbers are punctuated by moments. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals he played 25 minutes, scored 10 points and finished plus‑24; in a winner‑take‑all Game 7 he poured in 20 points, hitting 6 of 10 three‑pointers (18 of his points came from those threes). He carried that stroke into the NBA Finals opener, scoring 16 points with a 5‑for‑10 mark from distance.
The arc from being cut to key contributor is the context that matters now: Champagnie was waived on Feb. 15 and claimed by San Antonio the next day, then found a place where he could “make it work” — to borrow his own refrain about fitting where a team needs him. He’s a Brooklyn product who played at Bishop Loughlin and spent three seasons at St. John’s, and he has been candid about how rough the February cut felt and how grateful he is that the Spurs took a chance on a kid from Brooklyn.
San Antonio’s willingness to slot him into the rotation has paid off in the playoffs. His three‑point shooting has opened space for the Spurs’ breakouts and pick‑and‑rolls with Wembanyama; his plus‑minus and timely shooting helped push the club through the West and into the Finals. He has also been visible off the court — defending teammates when necessary — and was linked in team coverage after Game 2 when he spoke up about a clubmate’s situation.
The friction now is unmistakable: Champagnie has emerged as a reliable postseason shooter and role player, but the Spurs head into Games 3 and 4 in New York down 2‑0 in the Finals. That split — a contender’s sharpshooter producing while his team trails two games — sharpens every decision the Spurs make about lineups and looks for him. His hot starts in Games 7 of the West and Game 1 of the Finals show the upside; the unanswered question is whether that upside can translate into enough sustained scoring and floor spacing to pull San Antonio back into the series.
He returns to New York with memory and motive: Champagnie recalled first playing in the Garden as a St. John’s player and said there’s “no better feeling” than competing there for a championship. Now 24, he is back on those courts in Games 3 and 4 with the Spurs needing wins to avoid an uphill climb. If his shooting remains as sharp as it has been — the playoff splits say it can — he could be the kind of short‑term difference a team down 2‑0 badly needs.
San Antonio claimed him on Feb. 16, 2023; that roster move has become one of the Spurs’ clearest immediate returns. What remains unresolved is whether Champagnie’s three‑point touch will flip the series in Madison Square Garden over the next two games or whether the Spurs’ deficit will demand a different kind of correction.
