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.
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"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.
