?Short Guys Always Wanna Fight?: $33,000,000 Poorer than Victor Wembanyama, 22 YO NBA Star Shoved into the Spotlight by Shaquille O?Neal and Fans

With the start of the Summer League, the pre-season is officially underway. Most of the talk in the build-up has been about Victor Wembanyama. The Frenchman is entering the league after spending the past two seasons in France, during which he won the Pro A championship and the MVP. Chosen first overall in the 2023 draft class, the San Antonio Spurs have a gem on their hands.

Kicking off their Wemby era with a win over the Charlotte Hornets, the star of the night was not Wembanyama though. Although he did play a role, he wasn’t necessarily their brightest star. That title went to an unexpected talent who managed to take the limelight off Wemby, leaving fans and legend Shaquille O’Neal shocked by his game.

22-year-old overshadows Spurs debut of Victor Wembanyama

On a night when all the headlines were about the matchup between the top two picks. an undrafted player ultimately stole the spotlight. 22-year-old Julian Champagnie had himself a game. Being $33 million poorer than Wembanyama, Champagnie went off. On the back of a drastic rise, his night was made much sweeter when he caught a body on his way to a rack attack.

Starting as a shooting guard, the Brooklyn native scored 20 points, making 7 of his 15 field goals. Compared to Wemby’s 9 points, the forward outperformed the 7’4” big, making quite the statement.

Going undrafted during the 2022 NBA draft, Julian signed a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons. Briefly suiting up for their G-league counterparts Delaware Blue Coats, he was waived a year later. This is when Champagnie signed with the San Antonio Spurs on a two-way contract.

After playing for their G-league team, Julian eventually got his chance with the Spurs. In the last few games of the regular season, Juju averaged 20.0 points per game in his last 5 games.

Fans and Shaq put the spotlight on Champagnie

Posting a clip of Champagnie’s dunk on his Instagram story, Shaq was notably impressed by the impressive performance.

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The big man was not alone in praising the Spurs player as fans chimed in after the 22-year-old’s performance. Although 6’8”, one fan was clearly not aware of the forward’s height as he commented, “Short guys always wanna fight“. Perhaps he was comparing Juju to his teammate Wembanyama, who is the tallest player in the NBA.

Few others were blown by his athleticism.

“Was not expecting this in the summer league“.

Another fan commented, “Damn that was nasty“.

However, some fans made sure to remind everyone of Wemby’s unfortunate poster.

“Show Kai Jones? poster on Wemby“.

Another fan stated that Juju’s dunk was revenge for Wemby being posterized.

“He had to get tht Getbck fa Wemby”

A twin to Boston Celtics star Justin Champagnie, Julian will be hoping to outperform his sibling. What did you think of his Summer League performance?

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