Champagnie did not start as Washington adjusted its lineup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Justin John Champagnie was born on June 29, 2001, in Staten Island, New York.
He has made a name for himself in professional basketball even though he wasn’t picked in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The guard-forward from Brooklyn was a star at Pittsburgh, where he led the Panthers as a freshman with 12.7 points and 7 rebounds per game.
As a sophomore, he averaged 18 points and 11.1 rebounds and was named to the First Team All-ACC.
After signing a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors in 2021, Champagnie bounced between the NBA and the G League, spending time with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat before landing with the Washington Wizards in February 2024.
The Wizards eventually rewarded his development with a four-year, $10 million contract in March 2025.
Off the court, Champagnie made history on February 10, 2025, when he faced his identical twin brother Julian — who plays for the San Antonio Spurs — in an NBA game, joining a rare group of twins to compete against each other at the highest level.
Despite Not Starting, Champagnie Played Extended Minutes In Washington’s 138-113 Loss To Cleveland
Champagnie was active for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he did not start.
His streak of three consecutive starts came to an end as Washington’s coaching staff adjusted the lineup for the matchup.
The Wizards sent out a starting five of Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, and Jamir Watkins against Cleveland.
Two key absences reshaped the rotation heading into the game — Alex Sarr sat out with a hamstring injury, and Tristan Vukcevic missed the contest due to illness.
These departures shifted the team’s structural needs, and the coaching staff opted for a different starting configuration rather than sliding Champagnie into a new role from the opening tip.
That said, the same injury absences that pushed Champagnie out of the starting five kept him busy off the bench.
With two rotation pieces unavailable, Washington leaned on him for extended minutes throughout the game.
Cleveland dominated from start to finish, defeating Washington 138-113 to claim their fifth straight victory.
Sam Merrill delivered a jaw-dropping performance, erupting for 32 points on 9-of-9 from three-point range — a career-high that tied records for consecutive three-point makes in the first half of a game dating back to at least 2002-03.
Donovan Mitchell added 30 points, marking the 99th time he reached that threshold as a Cavalier and further cementing his case as an All-Star.
Jarrett Allen chipped in 21 points and 9 rebounds while shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor.
The Cavaliers entered the All-Star break on a serious roll, and for the Wizards — a lottery-bound team still building toward the future — this game reflected exactly where both franchises stood at that point in the season.
