2024-25 Spurs Player Reviews: Julian Champagnie

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Champagnie didn’t learn new tricks but refined his valuable skill set and stepped up when the team needed him during an injury-riddled season.

Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2024-25 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, and no players who were traded away).

Julian Champagnie

2024-25 stats: 82 games, 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 37.1 3PT% on 5.9 attempts

Contract Status: 2 years, $6 million remaining (2025/26 non-guaranteed until August 1, 2026/27 team option)

Age: 23

The Spurs were once known for finding gems. From the two Hall-of-Famers drafted outside of the lottery that joined Tim Duncan in the Big Three, to role players like Bruce Bowen and Patty Mills, San Antonio routinely found talent others had overlooked. Even recently, the selections of Derrick White and Dejounte Murray kept that tradition alive. In the past few years, however, the Silver and Black prospect pipeline didn’t produce great results, partially because the front office took more chances amid a rebuild and partially because the rest of the league might have gotten better at not letting valuable players slip away.

Julian Champagnie stands as the Spurs’ best example that the franchise can still get great value where others don’t see it. With all its injuries, the 2024/25 season served to amplify how important having a two-way wing on the cheap ready to step up really is. Champagnie didn’t learn any new skills, but refined the ones he had, which was enough to make him a good rotation piece. His per-minute numbers improved on a better team, his corner shots were more reliable, and his defense remained solid across three positions. He had a good season despite being asked to start 29 games, and he suited up for all 82 matchups. Champagnie was durable, reliable to the extent most role players can be, and adaptable. A solid 3-and-D guy.

Some minor blemishes make this just a good season of progression and not a breakout year. The outside shot from above the break continues to be decent but not reliable. Defensively, Champagnie looked like he had the potential to be a great weakside help defender but blocked fewer shots than he did in 2023/24 despite playing an extra 500 minutes. The entire team struggled with turnovers at times, but he had some really bad ones at key moments. None of those are huge issues for a guy who projects to be, at best, the fifth starter on a good team. What he can do is valuable, and that’s what matters.

Looking ahead

Champagnie has two more years in his incredibly team-friendly contract. It’s unclear how much turnover the Spurs will want to have on their roster, but it only makes sense to trade him or not guarantee his deal in particular circumstances. It’s safe to say he’ll be around next season, likely as a bench shooter. His numbers were stellar as a starter, and there is a case for him as a floor-spacer with the main unit, but he would be competing with Stephon Castle and Jeremy Sochan for a spot, and the two higher-upside young guys would likely win out.

Once his current contract expires, a tough decision could await. Champagnie at $3 million a year is a steal, but what’s his value in the open market? Even if he doesn’t earn a lot more, he’d hit free agency just as the Spurs would be getting expensive. A potential Jeremy Sochan extension would be on the books and Keldon Johnson’s deal expires in the same offseason as Champagnie’s. A lot can happen between now and two years in the future. Champagnie’s progress will determine whether he sticks around as San Antonio is hopefully entering contention or becomes a casualty of the harsher cap rules the league has in place.