76ers let Julian Champagnie go for the dumbest reason, and now he’s shining for Spurs in playoffs originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia 76ers once had Julian Champagnie on their team.
But about three years after letting him go, Champagnie is shining in the NBA playoffs for the San Antonio Spurs. It’s not a move that has aged well.
When you consider the timing of the 76ers cutting Champagnie, it feels even worse.
They got rid of Champagnie to bring aboard Mac McClung. While not said specifically at the time, it was right before the NBA Dunk Contest. McClung got to represent the 76ers in the competition.
McClung played only two regular season games for the 76ers in that stint.
Little fun fact the Sixers waived Julian Champagnie so they could make room for Mac Mclung, so he could compete in a sixers jersey for the dunk contest https://t.co/icma1qhWnV
— terq (@terqtakeover) April 29, 2026
MORE: LeBron reveals his own thoughts on the MJ GOAT debate
Champagnie, who was undrafted out of St. John’s, played just two games for the 76ers himself before he had been let go. This wasn’t some obvious miss at the time.
It’s just that he’s made it look really bad since.
Champagnie is a career 37.5% 3-point shooter who brings length and floor spacing to a great Spurs team.
MORE: Alperen Sengun is a big Harry Potter fan
In their first-round closeout game earlier this week, he had 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists while shooting 6-for-9 from the floor, including 5-for-7 from 3.
The ‘Sixers sure could use a guy like Champagnie on their roster. It’s not like they kept McClung around for very long.