Julian Champagnie said the San Antonio Spurs’ trip to the NBA Finals feels like more than a playoff run. After the Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 on Saturday night, the Brooklyn native said the moment fits the work, the sacrifice and the belief that carried the group this far.
“Man, honestly and truly I don’t even know,” Champagnie said when asked what he pictures when he thinks about the Finals. “Just great basketball, competitive, tough hoops, and greatness. Honestly and truly, you associate that with legacies and legends and greatness. So hopefully we get that done.”
Champagnie scored 20 points in the series-clinching win, and 18 of those came from 3-pointers. He said his steadiness has come from his teammates keeping him grounded through the highs and lows.
“I think my teammates did a really good job of keeping me in check and making sure that I don’t get too high and never get too low,” he said. “Never get too high, never get too low. Just kind of tread water, stay in the middle.”
He said that approach has helped him stay ready for the next possession, especially in pressure games like Game 1 and Game 7. “Definitely helps with keeping confidence,” Champagnie said. “Definitely helps with keeping steady and knowing next play, next play, next play.”
Champagnie also reflected on the way his career began with uncertainty after he was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2023. “Back then I was 22. I thought it was over. I ain’t going to lie to you,” he said. “I just put my head down and said make it work. Whatever they give you, make it work. Whatever they need you to do, make it work.”
Three years later, he is heading to the Finals with the Spurs and calling San Antonio the right place to land. “I love my teammates, love the coaching staff, love everybody at the organization,” he said. “It’s a great place to be. I don’t think there’s any better place I could be, honestly and truly.”
The Garden now brings the story full circle for a player from Brooklyn. Champagnie said the Finals in New York carry extra meaning because he has spent so much of his life around the arena and the city.
“That’s every kid’s dream,” he said. “Now we got to go play against them for a championship. That’s personal. I get to go home. I get to see family.”
Champagnie also said he was ready for the challenge of Knicks fans, but not worried about the noise. “I don’t think we’re too worried about the fans,” he said. “We have great fans down in San Antonio and I’m 100 percent sure that the same way Knicks fans will travel, San Antonio fans will travel.”
What stood out most to him from Game 7 was Luke Kornet’s fourth-quarter block on Isaiah Hartenstein, a play Champagnie called the turning point. “I’ve never seen Luke run that fast,” he said. “That was a huge play. That’s a momentum play.”
He also praised Keldon Johnson’s late burst and the team’s collective response. “He played his ass off,” Champagnie said. “We needed everybody tonight.”
