By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-10-09 11:51:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2024 年 10 月 7 日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥，在 AT&T 中心举行的 NBA 季前赛对阵俄克拉荷马雷霆队的比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30 号) 在被宣布为首发球员后跑进球场。
朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 在马刺队的训练营开始时，以一种“顺其自然”的态度来争取首发位置——该怎么样就怎么样。
“我知道我会不会首发吗？不知道，”尚帕尼说，“如果我首发了，万岁！如果我没有，也万岁！”
不过，尚帕尼很清楚这一点：由于确定无疑的首发得分后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 将因脚部手术至少缺席赛季第一周的比赛，因此在赛季初期有很多上场时间可供争取。
周一，马刺队在季前赛揭幕战中对阵俄克拉荷马雷霆队，尚帕尼出现在了首发阵容中。
他充分利用了这次机会，甚至做得更多，在本场比赛中，他狂砍全场最高的 22 分，投进 6 记三分球，并抢下全队最高的 7 个篮板，尽管球队最终以 112-107 输掉了比赛。
“我很自信，”尚帕尼说，“作为球队的射手之一，我必须充满自信。无论投篮命中还是投失，你都必须坚持出手。”
这只是一场比赛的表现，但对于这位正在马刺队新秩序中寻找自己位置的 23 岁摇摆人来说，仍然是一种信心的提升。
对于尚帕尼来说，首发阵容并不陌生。2022-23 赛季末，马刺队从费城 76 人队的弃将名单中认领了他。从那时起，尚帕尼已经首发出场 62 次，这在俱乐部历史上排名第七，超过了所有落选秀。
休赛期的阵容调整，包括老将前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 以及控球后卫传奇人物克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 的到来，对尚帕尼的首发位置构成了威胁。
随着瓦塞尔将缺席赛季初的消息传来，身高 6 英尺 8 英寸的尚帕尼再次迎来了机会。
“他在对阵雷霆队的比赛中表现出色，为自己赢得了一些青睐。我认为他是那些自始至终都表现出色的球员之一，”主教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 说。
尚帕尼在周一的比赛中最成功之处在于，他通过不断出手摆脱了糟糕的开局。
他在第一节的三分球 4 投 1 中，但与过去几个赛季不同的是，他没有因此而气馁。
到终场哨声响起时，尚帕尼的三分球已经 13 投 6 中。
“他连续投失了大约三个球，但他一直在投篮，”波波维奇说，“他没有丝毫犹豫。”
这可以算作是尚帕尼成熟的一种表现，他在休赛期一直专注于这一点。
“我觉得上个赛季很多时候，当我连续投失两三个球后，我就会有点像，‘啊，’”尚帕尼说，“你不知道自己还能不能投进……你不能去想它，只要有机会就投篮。”
尚帕尼上赛季场均得到 6.8 分，三分球命中率为 36.5%。
马刺队在周一的比赛中三分球 43 投 17 中，比上赛季的平均水平略有提升。多亏了尚帕尼的韧性，他成为了马刺队远程进攻的重要组成部分。
“我参加比赛的心态就是获得投篮机会，尽可能多地出手三分，”尚帕尼说。
目前还不清楚尚帕尼是否会首发出战马刺队周三在 AT&T 中心对阵奥兰多魔术队的第二场季前赛。
波波维奇可能会选择在瓦塞尔的位置上试用其他球员。无论如何，这个首发位置只是暂时的，因为一旦通过球队医疗组的许可，瓦塞尔将会毫无疑问地重新回到首发阵容。
三年级后卫马拉基·布拉纳姆 (Malaki Branham) 在过去几个赛季中首发出场 62 次，他可能会在季前赛的某个时候得到首发的机会。
凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 曾长期担任首发球员，但在上赛季中期转为替补。波波维奇在本赛季初的训练营中表示，他还没有确定约翰逊在新赛季的角色，这意味着他并不能保证进入第二阵容。
波波维奇最终也有可能让新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在这个位置上试一试。
就目前而言，考虑到尚帕尼此前的表现以及他在季前赛的火热开局，他似乎在首发位置的竞争中处于领先地位。
尚帕尼认为这个问题超出了他的职责范围。他打算充分利用最终的结果，无论结果如何。
“我不知道会发生什么，”尚帕尼说，“我真的没有花时间去想这个问题，这对我来说真的不重要，我只是来这里让球队变得更好。”
2024 年 10 月 7 日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥，在 AT&T 中心举行的 NBA 季前赛对阵俄克拉荷马雷霆队的比赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋扎克·科林斯 (Zach Collins) (23 号)、前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) (0 号)、前锋杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) (10 号)、前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30 号) 和后卫特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) (33 号) 在板凳席上观看队友比赛。
2024 年 10 月 7 日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥，在 AT&T 中心举行的 NBA 季前赛对阵圣安东尼奥马刺队的比赛开始前，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30 号) 在奏响国歌时望向观众。
周一上午，在维多利亚资本表演中心举行的马刺队媒体日活动中，马刺队球员朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 为队友特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) 拍照。
2024 年 10 月 7 日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥，在 AT&T 中心举行的 NBA 季前赛对阵俄克拉荷马雷霆队的比赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) (40 号) 将球传给圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30 号)(图中未显示)。
周一上午，在维多利亚资本表演中心举行的马刺队媒体日活动中，马刺队球员朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 正在拍照。
2024 年 4 月 14 日，周日，在圣安东尼奥举行的一场 NBA 篮球比赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30 号) 在底特律活塞队中锋詹姆斯·怀斯曼 (James Wiseman) (13 号) 面前起跳扣篮。(美联社照片/迈克尔·托马斯)
点击查看原文：Julian Champagnie has inside track to San Antonio Spurs' starting gig
Julian Champagnie has inside track to San Antonio Spurs’ starting gig
San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) runs onto the court as he is announced as a starter in the pre-season NBA match-up against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas.
Julian Champagnie opened training camp with the Spurs taking a que sera, sera approach to the idea of earning a starting job – whatever will be, will be.
“Do I know if I am going to start? No,” Champagnie said. “If I do, hooray. If I don’t, hooray.”
Champagnie is well aware of this much, though: With surefire starting shooting guard Devin Vassell set to miss at least the first week of the season on his way back from foot surgery, minutes are there for the taking in the early going.
When the Spurs opened the preseason against Oklahoma City on Monday, Champagnie was in the starting lineup.
He made the most of it and then some, pouring in a game-high 22 points, sinking six 3-pointers and pulling down a team-leading seven rebounds in a 112-107 defeat.
“I am confident,” Champagnie said. “I have to be confident to be one of the team’s shooters. You’ve got to shoot through makes, misses, anything.”
It was a one-game sample size, but still a confidence boost for the 23-year-old swingman seeking his place in the Spurs’ new world order.
The starting lineup is not foreign territory for Champagnie, who the Spurs claimed off the waiver wire scrap heap from Philadelphia near the end of the 2022-23 season. Champagnie has started 62 times since then, which marks the seventh-most in club history for an undrafted player.
An offseason shakeup that included the arrival of veteran forward Harrison Barnes, as well as point guard legend Chris Paul, threatened Champagnie’s stranglehold on a starting gig.
Opportunity arose anew for the 6-foot-8 Champagnie upon the news Vassell would be unavailable for the start of the season.
"He did himself some favors with a strong performance against OKC. I thought he was one of the guys who played well all the way around,” coach Gregg Popovich said.
Where Champagnie succeeded best Monday was in shooting his way out of a tough start.
He opened the first quarter 1 of 4 from 3-point range but – unlike in seasons past – remained undaunted.
By the time the final horn sounded, Champagnie was 6 of 13 from distance.
“He missed about three in a row there, but he kept shooting,” Popovich said. “He didn’t hesitate.”
This counts as a measure of maturity for Champagnie, who spent his offseason focused on exactly that concept.
“I felt like last year a lot of times I would miss two or three and it would kind of be like, ‘Ahhhh,’ ” Champagnie said. “You don’t know if you are going to make any more. … You just can’t think about it. Just shoot if you are open.”
Champagnie averaged 6.8 points last season, hitting 36.5% of his 3-point tries.
The Spurs converted 17 of 43 from 3-point range Monday, a modest uptick from what they averaged last season. Thank to his resilience, Champagnie proved to be a major part of that long distance attack.
“I just go into the game with the mindset of getting shots, getting the threes that you can get up,” Champagnie said.
It was not immediately clear if Champagnie would start the Spurs’ second preseason game Wednesday against Orlando at the Frost Bank Center.
Popovich could choose to audition other options in Vassell’s slot. In any event, the gig would be a temporary one as Vassell is a shoo-in to reclaim his starting role once cleared by the team’s medical staff.
Third-year guard Malaki Branham has started 62 games over the past few seasons, and could get a look at some point during the preseason.
Keldon Johnson was a longtime starter before shifting to the bench midway through last season. Popovich said early in camp he had not yet settled on a role for Johnson heading into the new campaign, meaning he is not considered a lock for the second unit.
It is possible Popovich eventually gives a glance to rookie Stephon Castle at that spot as well.
For now, Champagnie appears to have an inside track on the job given his prior history and sizzling start to the preseason.
It is a question Champagnie considers to be above his pay grade. He plans to simply make the most of the answer, whatever it might be.
“I don’t know how that is going go,” Champagnie said. “I really don’t spend my time thinking about that one. It really doesn’t matter to me. I am just here to make the team better.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Zach Collins (23), forward Keldon Johnson (0), forward Jeremy Sochan (10), forward Julian Champagnie (30) and guard Tre Jones (33) watch their teammates from the. Bench in the first half of the pre-season NBA match-up against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas.
San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) looks toward the crowd as the National Anthem plays before the start of the pre-season NBA match-up against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas.
Spurs Julian Champagnie takes pictures of teammate Tre Jones during Spurs Media Day activities Monday morning at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) passes the ball out to San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30), not pictured, during the first half of the pre-season NBA match-up against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas.
Spurs Julian Champagnie gets his picture taken during Spurs Media Day activities Monday morning at the Victory Capital Performance Center.
San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) goes up for a dunk against Detroit center James Wiseman (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News