Dylan Harper’s arrival has changed the look of the San Antonio Spurs’ starting five, and it pushed Julian Champagnie to the bench for opening tip. But the forward hasn’t faded into the background. If anything, he’s making a strong case that he still matters plenty to a team that’s already stacking wins.
"Not playing to our standard"
— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) October 26, 2026
-Julian Champagnie
⬇️"First two games, realized can't just walk into a game feel like we're going to win because we're San Antonio"
-talked w/Devin Vassell about #Spurs matching intensity given their new reality@HalftimePizza Silver & Black Report pic.twitter.com/lZtERJjQlJ
Champagnie is leading San Antonio in both three-point attempts and three-point percentage, and the gap is real. He’s shooting 44% from deep, while no other Spur logging heavy minutes is above 35.6%. That kind of efficiency keeps him in the middle of everything the Spurs are doing offensively, even with the spotlight now landing on Harper and the team’s three star guards sharing the floor more often in key moments.
“My teammates do a really good job of getting me open and finding where I’m at on the court. I always give credit to them. Without them, I’m not making any shots.”
The Spurs carry a ten-game winning streak into their matchup with the Golden State Warriors, a run that includes a completed 4-0 road swing. Champagnie has scored in double figures in each of their last three victories, another sign that he’s still delivering when San Antonio is rolling.
“And then, offensively, moving the basketball no matter who’s making shots, who’s not making shots. I think we’ve come out and done exactly what we’re supposed to do. Hopefully we just continue to build off of it.”
Through the early part of the season, the fifth-year forward is averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 shots from beyond per game. He also had the biggest scoring night of San Antonio’s season so far, dropping 26 points against the Sacramento Kings in the Spurs’ first home win of the year. That game gave San Antonio its second victory overall, a needed response after losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets to open the season.
“I think that the standard that we’re setting for ourselves is that we have to start great and that doesn’t have to be with points. That doesn’t have to be with scoring the basketball. That just means go out there, play defense, finish defensive possessions with rebounds and then get quality shots, whether they go in or they don’t go in.”
Champagnie’s place in the starting five was a big part of last season’s surge, too. Once he joined the lineup, the Spurs didn’t lose in February, and the 25-year-old forward stayed there as the team’s run carried all the way to the NBA Finals.
“I feel like that was a product of us moving the basketball well and playing to our standard,” Champagnie has reiterated regarding when the team is at its best.
“When you get four or five wide open ones, I think that the next one and the one after that, if they’re a little contested, it’s a better shot for you. Feels a little different.”
Less than a month into this season, San Antonio’s momentum already looks a little different. And Champagnie is still right in the middle of it.
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For a young Spurs group still trying to establish its identity, it was the kind of night that felt bigger than one regular-season win. Golden State never found much rhythm, shooting just 25% in the first half and fading into a loss that left the Warriors at 1-1 in NBA Cup group play, while San Antonio walked away with a performance that looked like a message as much as a result. [Read more 🡒]