Julian Champagnie has spent this season doing the one thing every offense wants from a wing, making life easier for everybody else.
Then he pushed it into franchise history. He buried 11 three pointers in a 36 point night against the Knicks on New Year’s Eve, then finished the regular season with 195 made threes, the most in a season in Spurs history after passing Danny Green.
That is the kind of number that does not happen by accident. It comes from volume, confidence and a team that keeps trusting the same shot over and over.
How a once overlooked wing became San Antonio’s volume shooter
Champagnie’s path to this point was not clean or linear. He is a 24 year old, 6 foot 7 forward who last attended St. John’s and entered the league undrafted.
A recent NBA feature on his rise noted that he had already been waived by Philadelphia before the Spurs gave him another chance, which is exactly the kind of path that usually requires one skill to stand out above everything else. In his case, that skill has been shooting.
The New Year’s Eve game was the moment the league could not ignore.
San Antonio beat New York 134-132, and Champagnie’s 11 made threes were the centerpiece of the comeback.
NBA coverage called it a franchise record night, and the finish turned a strong season into something much bigger.
It was not just a hot shooting performance. It was a statement that he can swing a game by himself when the shot is there.
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Why the record matters beyond one hot night
What makes the record more interesting is that it fits the rest of his season. Champagnie’s stat was 11.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for the regular season, numbers that show he was not just camping on the arc.
He gave the Spurs length, rebounding and enough all around play to stay on the floor while still serving as one of their main perimeter threats.
His Game 5 line against Portland in the first round backed that up, when he scored 19 points and hit five threes in San Antonio’s series clincher.
That same trust carried into the postseason. In Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against Minnesota, the Spurs finished the night with Champagnie taking the final three point attempt at the buzzer.
The shot missed, and the Spurs lost 104-102, but the decision said plenty about where he sits in the offense. When a team with Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox needs a perimeter look late, Champagnie is still one of the names it is willing to ride with.
San Antonio has found a wing who can punish defenders for helping off, keep the floor open around its young stars and put his name in the record book while doing it.
The record season does not just belong in a stat sheet. It changes how opponents have to guard him, and it gives the Spurs another weapon they can trust when games tighten.
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His twin brother is Justin Champagnie, who has also played in the NBA. The brothers entered the league in back to back seasons.
He hit 11 three pointers and, in the game noted by NBA coverage, did it without taking a two point shot. That is part of why the performance stood out in franchise history.
He passed Danny Green for the most made threes in a season in Spurs history.
