Julian Champagnie’s rise in San Antonio has already turned into one of the Spurs’ better success stories, and now the 25-year-old forward is making it clear he wants the relationship to last.
After signing a three-year extension worth $45 million, Champagnie said Thursday at the Gold Star Gamers’ Cup at USAA that he hopes this deal is only the latest step in a much longer run with the franchise.
“I appreciate them to the fullest,” Champagnie said in a video shared by Wemby Alien Era on X. “Obviously, I’ve been here for three-and-a-half years now.
Hopefully I’m here for the rest of my playing career. I love it here.
It’s the best.”
He doubled down on that message while talking about the Spurs’ outlook around Victor Wembanyama.
“The big fella’s here to stay. I’m here to stay,” Champagnie said. “Got the same team back, couple of additions, so it’s going to be pretty good.”
The extension gives Champagnie $42 million in new money and his first real long-term security as a pro. That matters because his path to this point was anything but smooth.
Philadelphia waived Champagnie in February 2023 to open a two-way roster spot for Mac McClung before McClung’s first Slam Dunk Contest appearance. Two days later, San Antonio stepped in and gave Champagnie another shot.
At that point, he was on the edge of the league and unsure whether another chance would come. Champagnie later said he cried after being waived and thought his NBA career might be over.
Instead, the Spurs became the team that changed everything.
Last season, Champagnie played in all 82 games and averaged 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. He also carved out a steady starting role alongside Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
The production came with record-breaking numbers, too. Champagnie passed Danny Green for the most three-pointers made in a season in Spurs history with 192, and he set a new single-game franchise mark by hitting 11 shots from beyond the arc.
San Antonio responded with the contract, and Champagnie responded with a public declaration that he wants this to be home for the long haul.
His comments at the Gold Star Gamers’ Cup also showed that his bond with the city reaches beyond the court.
“This is Military City,” Champagnie told Fitzgerald. “It’s important for us to get in the community and show that love to them as well - because they’re coming through and sacrificing a lot for us.”
Three-and-a-half years in San Antonio has been enough for Champagnie to understand what the Spurs expect and what the city means. The franchise gave him a lifeline when his future was in doubt. He turned it into a starting job, a record-setting season and a major payday.
Now he wants the partnership to keep rolling.
In Other News...
Victor Wembanyama Just Became Even Scarier For The Spurs
Victor Wembanyama spent last season looking more and more comfortable where the game is tightest, at the rim, and the results showed up in both volume and efficiency. Bigger, better-connected teammates helped make that possible, and Stephon Castle emerged as a particularly useful passer in that mix, feeding Wembanyama on lobs and helping turn more possessions into easy finishes instead of forced looks.
The next step for San Antonio is less about asking Wembanyama to do more and more about making sure he does the right mix of things. He trimmed back his three-point attempts to lean into inside scoring, but the Spurs will want that balance to keep evolving so defenses cannot simply load up on one area of the floor. If he keeps punishing teams at the rim while finding a more natural rhythm from outside, the matchup problem he already is gets even harder to solve. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Is Already Setting A New Spurs Standard
Victor Wembanyama has spent the Spurs offseason doing more than just getting ready for year three. He was seen working out with Tobias Harris, a notable sign of how quickly San Antonios franchise centerpiece is trying to build chemistry with a new teammate while also pushing his own game forward. For a team still shaping its identity around Wembanyama, those kinds of offseason habits matter almost as much as what happens when the games start.
Harris brings the kind of veteran experience that can be useful for a player already operating on a different level physically and creatively. The fit also hints at a chance for Wembanyama to keep refining the parts of his scoring that will matter most as defenses keep adjusting to him, including how he creates his own shot and finds efficient ways to score. For the Spurs, it is another reminder that their standard is being set by the player who is already acting like the one everyone else has to follow. [Read more 🡒]