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Former Sixer’s Celebration Leads to Bizarre Injury on Sunday

Former Philadelphia 76ers forward Julian Champagnie nearly saw his night end early on Sunday.
Justin Grasso|
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) reacts with
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) reacts with | Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

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Philadelphia 76ers

Despite taking on a loss, Julian Champagnie had himself a solid performance against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.

In a way, you could call it a revenge game, considering Champagnie was facing his former team.

The Spurs forward was fired up as he started to heat up during the first half. His night nearly ended early after he hit a big shot and landed some friendly-fire from his teammate.

It’s not every day in the NBA where you see a player accidentally getting injured by his own teammate. Sunday night’s battle between the Sixers and the Spurs was a rare occasion when that happened.

Just after Champagnie hit a big shot before the Spurs closed out the first half in front, Champagnie got cut above his eye and needed stitches before the second-half started.

The young veteran’s night didn’t end early. He managed to check in for another 17 minutes in the second half and scored seven points on five attempts. He hit a critical shot for the Spurs late in the game. Then in overtime, he collected ten minutes across both periods.

Champagnie managed to play the entire game, despite suffering the minor setback in the first half. He finished the matchup with nearly 40 minutes of playing time. Champagnie scored 17 points and dished out three assists. Defensively, he came down with eight rebounds, and snatched two steals.

The Sunday night outing was likely a good confidence-booster for Champagnie, who started his pro career in Philadelphia. After going undrafted in 2022 out of St. John’s, Champagnie signed a two-way contract with the Sixers.

As a rookie, Champagnie appeared in just two games with the Sixers. Most of his time was spent with their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. In February of last season, Champagnie was waived by the Sixers, leading the Spurs to claim him two days later.

Initially, Champagnie had a two-way contract in San Antonio. This year, he signed a four-year deal, with his second season non-guaranteed, according to Spotrac.

It’s unclear if the Spurs plan to keep the former Sixer around long-term, but Sunday’s performance in a tight battle against a potential playoff squad was good for the former undrafted player’s resume.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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