Julian Champagnie

Born on June 29, 2001, Julian Kymani Champagnie, an American professional basketball player, currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He had a successful college basketball career playing for St. John’s Red Storm, during which he achieved all-conference honors in the Big East twice.

Champagnie was born in Staten Island, New York, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York where he went on to play basketball with his twin brother, Justin, at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School. Displaying his budding talent in his junior year, he was already scoring an average of 15 points per game. His high-school career was decorated with awards, specifically, the Third Team All-Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) AA honors. By his senior year, Champagnie scaled his skills up to average an impressive 17.2 points per game. Named a First Team All-CHSAA AA, his performance attracted various offers from top colleges, including Pittsburgh, Washington State, Cincinnati, and Seton Hall. Ultimately, Champagnie committed to St. John’s Red Storm.

On March 4, 2020, during his freshman year, Champagnie had an impressive game with a seasonal record of 23 points and six rebounds, although his team suffered a loss against Butler. Three days later, he managed to score 21 points and 12 rebounds, leading St. John’s to a victory over Marquette. With an average of 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, he was named Big East Freshman of the Week twice and made the All-Freshman Team selection.

In his sophomore year, on November 30, 2020, he debuted with 29 points and 10 rebounds in a winning game against Boston College. This season also saw him making a 33-point double-double against seventh-ranked Creighton, marking St. John’s first such achievement since D’Angelo Harrison in 2015. That season, Champagnie averaged 19.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and one block per game. Subsequently, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft but withdrew, choosing to return to St. John’s for his junior year to continue polishing his skills.

In his junior year, he went on to score a career-high of 34 points in a victorious game against DePaul. He maintained an average of 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, two steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, being named for the second time to the First Team All-Big East. Julian declared for the 2022 NBA draft and gave up his remaining college eligibility. However, he went undrafted.

Despite the setback, Champagnie was picked up on June 24, 2022, by the Philadelphia 76ers under a two-way contract. Here, he alternated his time between the 76ers and their NBA G League affiliate team, the Delaware Blue Coats. Unfortunately, his tenure at the 76ers was brief, as he was waived off on February 14, 2023.

Two days post his release from Philadelphia 76ers, Champagnie was claimed by San Antonio Spurs on February 16, 2023, under a two-way contract. On July 6, 2023, he re-signed with the Spurs reaffirming his continued professional journey with the same.

Apart from Julian, his twin brother Justin also plays professional basketball for the Washington Wizards, and their father, Ranford, was part of the 1996 national championship soccer team of St. John’s in the mid-1990s. Hence, the Champagnie family has left its mark on sports history, particularly basketball, and promises to scale even higher peaks in the future.