The San Antonio Spurs have been without Devin Vassell over the past few weeks and they continue to be without him on Tuesday night in a rivalry clash against the Houston Rockets. But the Spurs seem to not have missed Vassell's contributions on the court, not even a little bit, with Julian Champagnie stepping into the starting lineup and keeping things going for the Western Conference's second-best team.
Champagnie has some nights where he simply delivers both volume and efficiency from beyond the arc, and Tuesday night was one such occasion. The 24-year-old forward drilled six triples in the first half of their contest against the Rockets, and in so doing, he made even more threes than the entire Rockets team did through the first 24 minutes of the ballgame.
The Rockets aren't known for their three-point shooting, but it is still bonkers to see one man outshoot an entire team from beyond the arc over that long of a time period. At the time of writing, Champagnie now has eight treys on the night, and the Rockets only have six, so the same is still true. And considering how good the Spurs' defense has been, the game may very well end this way.
Julian Champagnie is a true Spurs developmental success story
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San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (1) battle for the ball during the second half at FedExForum.
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
The Spurs have become one of the best teams in the NBA thanks to the contributions of their top picks such as Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and De'Aaron Fox. Vassell has been rock solid as well, and so has De'Aaron Fox. But contending teams always seem to pluck contributors out of nowhere, and Champagnie's development into one of the best volume marksmen in the NBA proves that.
San Antonio claimed Champagnie off of waivers in 2023. Since then, he's started in 121 games for the Spurs, and he's under contract for such a bargain price (he has a team option worth $3 million for next season).