Julian Champagnie

With the sight of a once-unlikely fourth quarter comeback suddenly within reasonable view, the San Antonio Spurs found obstructions — from blocked shots to red-jerseyed defenders — flying all over the court on December 13, 2024. Wisely, they merely swung the basketball to a red-hot shooter with a trained, already-proven deadeye ability from deep. Often among December 13, 2024’s must-see talents, Julian Champagnie finds himself uncovered along the 3-point arc after the Portland Trail Blazers’ defense swats a teammate’s alley-oop layup attempt away. Knowing the trick for overly-aggressive approaches, Champagnie, using a textbook pump fake and slight readjustment, connects on a triple that trims the Spurs’ late-game deficit to three. Behind by a 16-point margin, miraculously, just five minutes prior, Alamo City ultimately rode Champagnie’s crunchtime coolness to a come-from-behind road win. Remarkable throughout, Champagnie accumulated 19 points (on 7-of-14 shooting), alongside five rebounds, one block, and a team-high five 3-pointers.

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