The San Antonio Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals this season is good financial news for at least one of their players.
San Antonio is expected to reward their starting forward Julian Champagnie with a bigger contract this summer, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported this weekend on “The Hoop Collective.” Windhorst notes that the Spurs will likely decline Champagnie’s team option for next season and then re-sign him to a better deal.
Champagnie, 24, has been one of the most underrated components of San Antonio’s success this year. He originally joined the team on two-way contract in 2023 and has since developed into a crucial starter.
During the regular season, Champagnie played in all 82 games (starting in 68) and averaged 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Now in the playoffs, Champagnie has started in all 18 games thus far for the Spurs and has posted very similar averages of 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game against tougher postseason defenses.
Champagnie is known as San Antonio’s best pure three-point shooter, leading all qualified Spurs during the playoffs with a 39.3 percent success rate from downtown. He also provides impactful, tenacious defense with his 6-foot-8 frame and his ability to guard multiple positions.
San Antonio currently holds an extremely affordable $3 million team option on Champagnie for the 2026-27 NBA season. But he has already way more than outplayed that price tag (including with his qualities as a teammate) and will apparently be getting rewarded thusly by the team in the offseason.
