Julian Champagnie isn’t getting caught up in his own stat lines - and that’s saying something, considering he just lit it up with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting from deep. But for the third-year forward, personal numbers take a backseat to team results. And right now, the San Antonio Spurs are still trying to find their rhythm.
“I really don't care, honestly and truly,” Champagnie said after the Spurs blew a 16-point lead and dropped a tough one to the Houston Rockets. “I don't care if I have 20, I don't care if I have ten. I mean, it just is what it is.”
That loss was another frustrating chapter in what’s been a rollercoaster stretch for San Antonio. The team has dropped three of its last seven, and while Champagnie has been steady - shooting at least 40% from the field during that span - the rest of the offense hasn’t followed suit.
Against Houston, the Spurs shot just 39% overall and a rough 28% from beyond the arc. It’s been a familiar story lately, with cold shooting nights piling up since late December.
Even in a recent loss to the Thunder, they managed just 35% from three.
Champagnie’s not sugarcoating it.
“I like to win,” he said. “I would much rather me have zero and us win by 20, if I'm being honest with you.
But, it's just basketball, it's just annoying. The loss is what bothers me the most, despite everything else.
That's just us not putting our best foot forward. That's what the kicker is for me.”
This is a young Spurs squad, still figuring out how to blend raw talent with consistent execution. And with Devin Vassell sidelined for the past few weeks, the rotation has leaned even harder on its youth. Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle continue to shoulder the load, while rookies Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant are being thrown into the fire - and learning on the fly.
Champagnie sees the growing pains as part of the process.
“I think that's a part of us growing up and becoming a better team because we have so much room to grow,” he said. “You know that we can get a shot any time on the shot clock, whatever shot that may be.
We've got guys who can get shots off at any time. Fox, Vic, Steph, Dev, anyone who's playing.
I think figuring out a way to get the best shot for the team, what shot is for everybody, even if I don't shoot it or Vic doesn't shoot it, Fox shoots it - that's the best shot for everybody.”
That mindset - unselfish, team-first, and focused on the long game - is exactly what you want to hear from a young core still carving out its identity. And make no mistake, this group is young.
Wembanyama just turned 22. Castle is 21.
Harper is 19. Keldon Johnson, the elder statesman of the locker room, is only 26.
Yet despite the inexperience, the Spurs are holding strong near the top of the Western Conference standings.
That’s no small feat - and Champagnie knows it.
“I think we have to continue to figure out and build out what that looks like,” he said.
There’s no denying the talent in San Antonio. The question now is how quickly they can turn flashes of brilliance into 48 minutes of consistent, winning basketball.
For Champagnie and the Spurs, the foundation is there. Now it’s about building the rest - one possession, one shot, one lesson at a time.