Julian Champagnie has gone from an undrafted forward to one of the San Antonio Spurs’ most useful scorers just as their season hangs by a thread. The 24-year-old could be part of the answer Thursday night, when the Spurs face elimination against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, scheduled to air on NBC and Peacock.
That need is simple. San Antonio cannot lean on Victor Wembanyama alone and expects scoring from Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell if it is going to extend the series. Champagnie, meanwhile, has given the Spurs another layer, particularly with his work on the boards and on defense, and he arrives at Game 6 after scoring 22 points in Game 5, with 17 of them coming in the first half.
Champagnie’s path to this moment has been long and uneven. Born in 2001 in Staten Island, New York, and raised in Brooklyn, he played at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School alongside his twin brother Justin, who now plays for the Washington Wizards. He spent three seasons at St. John’s from 2019 to 2022, where he earned First Team All-Big East honors as a sophomore and junior before skipping his senior year and declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft. He went undrafted, signed a two-way deal with Philadelphia and split time between the 76ers and the Delaware Blue Coats before Philadelphia waived him on February 14, 2023.
The Spurs claimed him off waivers two days later and signed him to a new two-way contract, a move that barely registered at the time. Champagnie played 15 games for San Antonio that season, when the team finished 22-60. This year has been different. He played all 82 games as the Spurs surged to a 62-20 finish, and during the 2025/26 regular season he averaged 11.1 points per game while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range.
His playoff numbers have dipped, though the role has not. Through five games in the Western Conference Finals, Champagnie is averaging 10.6 points per game and shooting 27.8% from three-point range, below his regular-season mark. Even so, he has remained part of the Spurs’ rotation because he gives them scoring, rebounding and pressure relief when opponents load up on the stars. A deeper look at his postseason impact can be found in Julian Champagnie eleva su rebote y fortalece a los Spurs en la postemporada.
That leaves San Antonio with a familiar playoff calculation: if the Spurs are going to force a Game 7, they need another strong night from Champagnie and enough help from the rest of the roster to make Oklahoma City feel every possession. The margin is gone now, and the next step is simple — survive Thursday, or the season ends.
