The San Antonio Spurs will guarantee the contract of wing Julian Champagnie after starting in more than half of their games in 2023-24. The Spurs had until August 1 to decide if they would keep the 6-foot-7 wing for 2024-25, and they chose to keep the undrafted player likely due to his cheap contract.
Spurs Guarantee Starting Forward’s Contract For 2024-25
Champagnie just finished the first campaign of a four-year contract worth $12 million signed before 2023-24, which pays him $3 million per season. The deal is non-guaranteed each season, and San Antonio will also have the option to decide before August 1 next year whether to keep him for 2025-26, with the final year of the agreement in 2026-27 being a team option.
After playing three seasons of college basketball for the St. John’s Red Storm from 2019 to 2022, Champagnie went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. He subsequently signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he made his NBA debut. He played a total of two games for Philly before the team waived him in February 2023.
The New York native shortly signed another two-way deal with the Spurs where he saw action and impressed in 15 games, earning himself a long-term deal in the summer.
Julian Champagnie Started For The Majority Of 2023-24 Season
The 23-year-old became a surprising contributor for San Antonio last season, playing in 74 games and starting in 59 games, more than half of the entire 2023-24 season.
Champagnie averaged 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range in 19.8 minutes of action per contest. He notably nailed a go-ahead three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left against his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers last April 7. The Spurs went on to lose the game, 133-126 in overtime.
Despite playing major minutes for the Spurs last season, it is unlikely that Champagnie will continue to be a regular starter for the team after they added an influx of talent in the offseason, which includes Harrison Barnes in the forward position.
The Spurs failed to improve their win-loss record in 2023-24, finishing with an identical 22-60 slate from the year prior. This result came despite adding generational talent Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. San Antonio also failed to make the postseason for the fifth consecutive campaign, last making the playoffs in 2019 in the final year of their NBA-record 22 straight playoff appearances.
