As the San Antonio Spurs work to get healthy, they have had to rely on forward Julian Champagnie more than ever. His durability and reliability have been major pluses for San Antonio, with him having played more than 100 straight games dating back to the beginning of last season.
Not just that, but his shooting ability, defense, and even his rebounding have been extremely helpful as the Spurs try to weather an early storm of injuries. Interestingly enough, one skill of Champagnie's has flown under the radar until now.
Against the Denver Nuggets, he drew 10 free throws after repeatedly being fouled on jump shots. That isn't an isolated incident, with Spurs analyst Paul Garcia pointing out that he ranks among the best in the league at drawing fouls on jump shots.
Julian Champagnie is drawing shooting fouls on 10.9% of his shot attempts per CTG, ranking in the 68th percentile among wings: https://t.co/A2TS9I9kxU pic.twitter.com/YAyiWUjeM2
— Paul Garcia (@PaulGarciaNBA) November 30, 2025
Considering that Champagnie scores most of his points from jumpers, him being able to sell contact and earn trips to the line ensures that he can still put points on the board even if his shot isn't falling.
Julian Champagnie's underrated skill is a game changer
Los Angeles Clippers star James Harden is well known for drawing fouls on jumpers, with him often drawing three free throws or the option for a four-point play. His ability to draw contact on jumpers has helped inspire other shooters to accentuate contact after taking shots.
The NBA has even helped their cause by penalizing defenders who don't give shooters space to land or high-five them when guarding a jumper. Luckily for the Spurs, Champagnie has seemingly figured out how to draw contact when taking threes and generating consistent offense for himself.
To put that into perspective, he takes more than 73% of his shots outside of the paint and still draws 2.4 free throws per game. That is fifth-best on the team, ahead of fellow 3-point bomber Devin Vassell and tied with Keldon Johnson, who takes most of his shots in the paint.
Champagnie is helping the Spurs' offense evolve
That accounts for about two points per game for Champagnie, which doesn't seem like much but has contributed to the Spurs increasing their free throw attempts per game. Last season, they attempted 21 free throws per game but are averaging 26.1 this season.
That has also contributed to them drastically improving their offensive rating, going from 19th last season to seventh this season. With Champagnie having a career season after being tasked with playing more due to injury, he is finding ways to contribute whether his shot is falling or not.