The San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics on the road, and Victor Wembanyama thinks they couldn't have done it without an unexpected addition.
The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a 105-95 road win over the Boston Celtics. Even without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have remained one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and it took a fourth-quarter rally for the Spurs to buck Boston.
Led by De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama, who both scored 21 points, the Spurs didn't let offensive inefficiencies get in their way. Julian Champagnie, one of the best shooters on the team, was an ice-cold two-of-eight from deep. Still, he added a career-high 13 rebounds and a clutch fourth-quarter block, giving the Spurs all they needed to win.
After the game, Wembanyama broke down why they don't need Champagnie to be a sniper. provided he steps up elsewhere.
Wembanyama Praises Champagnie
This season, Champagnie is shooting 36% from deep, in line with both his career and league-wide averages. However, it's been all or nothing all season, with him usually either being red hot or hopeless from deep.
Despite setting a franchise record for 3-pointers made earlier this season with 11, he's shot only 31% from deep since then, including a 0-for-6 outing in the win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Billed as a shooter, Champagnie is a capable defender and elite rebounder for this position, which was on full display in Boston.
"He's trusted," said Wembanyama. "I think he knows it, but he's got to know it. We trust him. The front office, the coaching staff, everybody believes in him, and he's just capitalizing on that, you know. And now he's, I don't know the word, it's like we can't do without him now. He's part of this. Indispensable."
After being picked up off waivers by the Spurs in 2023, Champagnie has bounced between the starting lineup and the bench, although he's emerged as a key player who can step up when Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson are hurt or struggling.
Vassell has missed the last three games and doesn't have a timeline for his return, so the Spurs have been leaning on Champagnie. Luckily, that hasn't really been a problem, since he's able to mask any struggles with big games in other areas.
"I think Julian embodied what we were trying to do and what we've been fighting to do more consistently through this stretch in terms of just putting our energy into the right places and not allowing outcomes, results, or shots to dictate that energy," added head coach Mitch Johnson.