Pitt's Justin Champagnie Signs With Wizards
PITTSBURGH -- Another former Pitt Panthers star is getting another shot at sticking with an NBA squad as the second half of the regular season gets underway.
Justin Champagnie, a two-year star from the Panthers from 2020 to 2022, has signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards, according to a report from The Atheltic's Shams Charania, after a stellar 2023-24 campaign with the Sioux Falls Sky Force of the G League.
Champagnie has limited NBA experience with the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics so far in his career. 39 of his 41 regular experiences over the past two seasons have come with the Raptors. This is the first time he'll step up and join an NBA roster this season.
At the NBA Summer League with the Celtics in Las Vegas last July, Champagnie finished tied for third on the team in scoring (13 points per game) and first in rebounding (8.3 rebounds per game). Champagnie also made 30.4% of his 3-pointers and 71.4% of his free throws, blocked one shot per game and led the Celtics in minutes at 28.6 per contest over four appearances.
Champagnie was on Boston's roster for the 2023 playoffs. He appeared in two games, averaging 2.5 points and 1.0 rebounds over 11.7 minutes per appearance.
He averaged 23 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game over 19 games, all starts, for the Sky Force this season.
A 2021 first-team All-ACC selection, Champagnie averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds per game while making 47.7% of his field goals during his final season with the Panthers.
The Wizards have struggled mightily this season. They own a 9-45 record that stands as the second-worst in all of the NBA. There is some backlog at Champagnie's position, with Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert and Bilal Coulibaly all eating up minutes on the wing. But the Wizards might be willing to experiment with the season essentially over at this juncture.
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