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Sirius XM NBA Radio: "At the end of the day, it's just a basketball game. I don't think anyone should be getting eggs tossed at them." @JulianChampagn2 on the Spurs dealing with Knicks fans outside their hotel
During the Spurs media availability on Tuesday afternoon, he was asked, “After Game 7 in OKC, you were asked about returning back to New York. Now in the Finals, now that you’ve experienced that, could you share what it was like for you to play last night?” “Yeah, it was pretty cool. Obviously we had a game to win, and that was the most important thing, especially being down 0-2. The initial reaction of just running out there, seeing all the celebrities, the fans, how loud it was, the music, it was definitely a surreal feeling that I’ll carry for life. But it was pretty cool,” Chapagnie responded.
"The game is built off of respect and passion," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. "We want everyone to respect each other. We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It's the NBA Finals. There's no better place to watch basketball. Leave the physicality to everyone on the court" A Brooklyn native, Spurs forward Julian Champagnie pointed out that he doesn't "feel any threat" walking around Midtown Manhattan during San Antonio's time off the court.
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Tom Orsborn: NYC native Julian Champagnie on the vibe in the city: “The vibes have been great. They've been crazy. Get off the bus, fans are there. We get some hoorays, we get some boos, some middle fingers, stuff like that. But that's just New York.”
Defensively, should the Knicks put OG Anunoby on Wemby? Coach 1: “Yes, I like that a lot. But one thing interesting with that is where do you put Towns? And I think the simple thing would be to put him on [Julian] Champagnie. But the Knicks don’t like to crossmatch that much. Good, bad or indifferent, they like to let Towns play through normal pick-and-roll coverages. I don’t know if he’s in shape enough to expend himself like what [Isaiah] Hartenstein was just doing with the Thunder — where he was bodying up Victor and also having to guard the pick-and-rolls and navigate screens and stuff like that. Karl has to be really disciplined if he’s guarding Champagnie. If you watch him to start these games, Champagnie gets crossmatched in transition quite a bit and gets wide-open 3s. And he’s a plus-40 percent 3-point shooter. You got to make sure you’re disciplined. I think they would probably put Brunson on [Devin] Vassell, and then [Mikal] Bridges and Hart on [De’Aaron] Fox and [Stephon] Castle.”
Ian Begley: Brooklyn native Julian Champagnie says he has a bunch of friends who are Knicks fans. He was asked if he’s prepared to be the villain in his hometown: “Sure…I would love to spoil their (plans),” Champagnie said with a laugh today at NBA Finals media day
“I thought I was gone [from the NBA] bro, I ain’t going to lie to you,” Champagnie told reporters. “I was always told how small the window is to get your foot in the league and stay there and make a career for yourself. To get an opportunity only in the G League and getting waived with no warning, no nothing, no explanation or anything was tough. “It was tough for a 22-year-old kid who was just thinking of chasing my dreams and telling myself I can do this. I didn’t have any clue where I was going to end up. My agent told me it could be anywhere.”
The 2022 NBA draft was in Brooklyn at Barclays Center, but Champagnie was on the draft bubble and watched on TV from his nearby family home rather than sitting in the stands of the arena. That was a good decision, as Champagnie went undrafted. “I was literally in the back of the crib in the corner crying,” Champagnie told Andscape. “I was tight. I was p‑‑‑ed. I felt like I did enough to get there. But you know what — and a bunch of people told me the same thing — that s‑‑‑ [going undrafted] don’t matter. It don’t matter. It makes it a little harder. But it makes it a little more me. It makes it a little more personal.”
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Julian Champagnie's improbable journey from being unceremoniously cut by Philadelphia on Valentine's Day 2023 to reaching the NBA Finals as a key member of the Spurs came to mind as he held onto the ball at the end of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. "I thought it was over, I ain't going to lie to you," the forward said, recalling how emotional he was when the Sixers let him go as a 21-year-old undrafted rookie out of St. John's.
Stephen Curry is the only player in NBA history with more 3-pointers in a conference finals Game 7. "My teammates do a really good job of keeping me in check and making sure I don't get too high and never get too low, so I give all that to them honestly and truly," he said. "That's something I've been working on for a long time now, trying to stay even keeled. I've had my ups and downs with it, but I feel like this year my teammates really did pull me together and tell me, 'We need you, so never get too high, never get you low, just kind of tread water, stay in the middle.' "It definitely helps with staying confident, keeping steady and knowing next play, next play, next play."
Brian Windhorst on Julian Champagnie: Pretty good claim by the Spurs. They also signed him to an excellent contract which has another year on it as a team option. And I think they're going to decline his option and then re-sign him to a better contract.
Oh No He Didn't: Wemby on Julian Champagnie: "Julian's amazing. He deserves everything that he gets. He got cut in the NBA few years back. He's had tough moments...now he's taking this team to the NBA Finals"
