OKLAHOMA CITY — Julian Champagnie is headed home to play in the NBA Finals in New York City — and it's hard for him to get his head around it.
A kid born in Brooklyn who played his high school ball at Bishop Loughlin Memorial in the city, who honed his style and found toughness on playgrounds around the city, then went to college at St. John's, is a key reason the San Antonio Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
"That's every kid's dream.
That's every kid's dream," said Champagnie, shaking his head in disbelief when asked about playing in the Finals at Madison Square Garden.
"I remember my first time actually playing in the Garden.
I was at St. John's, and I was just like in awe of just how much greatness has gone through there, and what that means for a kid from the city.
Being that now we got to go play against [the Knicks] for a championship, that's personal."
San Antonio gets that opportunity in part because Champagnie stepped up when his team needed him.
In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Champagnie knocked down six 3-pointers — the only other players to hit six 3-pointers in a conference finals are the Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson — and finished with 20 points.
"Julian's amazing. He deserves everything that he gets," said Victor Wembanyama, center for the Spurs.
"And he's the type of guy that makes you want to die for him on the court, because he gives so much effort, and he's got such an amazing story."
A Rocky Start
That story sounds like a fairy tale now, but Champagnie's journey to get here was anything but.
Three years ago, Champagnie wondered if he was even going to get another chance in the NBA.
On Feb. 14, 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers waived Champagnie from his two-way NBA contract.
The 76ers never told him why.
His exit created a two-way contract spot for Mac McClung, who was about to represent the 76ers in the All-Star Saturday Night Dunk Contest.
"Back then, being what, like 22 I think I was [21, actually], I thought it was over. I ain't gonna lie to you," said Champagnie.
"I was always told how small the window is to kind of push and get your foot in the league and stay there and make a career for yourself.
So getting opportunity only in the G League, and then getting waived with no warning, no nothing, explanation or anything.
It was tough.
It was tough for a 22-year-old kid who was just thinking I was gonna chase my dreams and telling myself, 'You could do this.'"
"Obviously, I had no clue where I was gonna end up. My agent told me, like, it could be anywhere.
Obviously ended up being in San Antonio. I put my head down and said, 'Make it work.'
Like whatever they give you, make it work, whatever they need you to do, make it work. And just find, find that spot."
Finding that spot meant becoming a much better defender.
When Champagnie got to San Antonio, it was Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich himself who sat him down and told him in language we cannot repeat here that his defense needed to get better if he wanted to play.
"In short, and TV-friendly [language], he told me that I have a niche, which is being able to shoot, but it's gonna be useless if I can't play defense," said Champagnie.
"So that was kind of the message, he pushed to me and told me to play harder, put more effort into that end of the floor.
Be more physical and be more nasty. That was the word he used, nasty."
There was no instant success — Champagnie wasn't sure this stop would work out any better than the last one.
"Absolutely not," laughed Champagnie. "Man, when I first got here, I had no clue.
I was going through a bunch of workouts, and I'm like, 'Man, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do this.'
Like, this is a whole different step from college…"
"I took it personal. I said, 'All right, well, if I want to play, I got a guard.'
That's what Pop told me.
So that's kind of how I took it, but I didn't think that it would pay off, honestly.
Truly, at first, I was like, I don't know."
From getting waived to hitting crucial threes in Game 7, Julian Champagnie prepares to play the NBA Finals at home in Madison Square Garden.
