Justin John Champagnie ( ; born June 29, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He plays the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions, and played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

Early life

Champagnie was born in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

and grew up in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and attended

Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School is a private, Roman Catholic, co-educational, college-preparatory high school located at 357 Clermont Avenue in the Ft. Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The school serves students in grades 9 ...

. As a senior, he averaged 19.8 points per game and was named first team Class AA All-State. A three-star recruit, he committed to playing

for

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

over offers from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

, Saint Louis and

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

College career

As a true freshman, Champagnie led the Panthers with 12.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. He was named the CBS Sports/USBWA National Freshman of the Week and the ACC Freshman of the Week after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds in games against Notre Dame and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. On December 22, 2020, Champagnie was ruled out for at least six weeks after sustaining a knee injury during practice. On January 19, 2021, he recorded 31 points and 14 rebounds in a 79–73 win over

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. At the conclusion of the regular season, Champagnie was selected to the First Team All-ACC. As a sophomore, Champagnie averaged 18 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. Following the season, he declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Toronto Raptors / Raptors 905 (2021–2022)

Champagnie was projected as a late first round pick to an early second round pick in the

. After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Champagnie signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

on August 7, 2021, splitting time with their

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate,

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fine Foods ...

. With

Scottie Barnes Scott Wayne Barnes Jr. (born August 1, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles men's basketball, Flo ...

injured and unable to play, Champagnie was called by the Raptors to make his professional debut on November 1, 2021, scoring his first two points in the NBA on free throws in a win against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. Champagnie during his time in Toronto was mentored by All-NBA Forward

Pascal Siakam Pascal Siakam ( ; born 2 April 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team, All-NBA selection, he won an NBA champ ...

and became close with Champagnie seeing Siakam as a big brother. On July 14, 2022, Champagnie re-signed with the Raptors on a two-year contract. On December 29, he was waived by the Raptors.

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2023)

On January 10, 2023, Champagnie was claimed off waivers by the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

Boston Celtics (2023)

On April 7, 2023, Champagnie signed with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. On July 31, he was waived by the Celtics.

Return to Sioux Falls (2023–2024)

On August 11, 2023, Champagnie signed with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, but was waived on October 21, prior to the start of the 2023–24 season. Nine days later, he returned to the

Washington Wizards / Capital City Go-Go (2024–present)

On February 22, 2024, Champagnie signed a 10-day contract with the

and on March 3, he signed a

. On February 10, 2025, Justin played against his twin brother Julian for the first time in an NBA game, when the Wizards met the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. They are among a very small number of twins who have ever played against one another in an NBA game. On March 2, Champagnie and the Wizards agreed to a four-year, $10 million contract.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 15 , , 1 , , 15.7 , , .410 , , .289 , , .800 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .6 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 31 , , 21.6 , , .511 , , .383 , , .685 , , 5.7 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 118 , , 32 , , 16.0 , , .487 , , .362 , , .732 , , 4.1 , , .8 , , .7 , , .4 , , 6.1

Playoffs

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College

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, 33 , , 27 , , 32.9 , , .421 , , .262 , , .777 , , 7.0 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 20 , , 19 , , 34.4 , , .477 , , .311 , , .711 , , 11.1 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , 18.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 53 , , 46 , , 33.4 , , .446 , , .280 , , .745 , , 8.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 14.7

Personal life

Champagnie was born in the United States and is of Jamaican descent. His identical twin brother, Julian, plays professional basketball for the

. His father, Ranford, played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

for St. John's in the mid-1990s and was a member of the 1996 national championship team.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champagnie, Justin 2001 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Jamaican descent American twins Basketball players from Staten Island Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School alumni Boston Celtics players Capital City Go-Go players Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Raptors 905 players Sioux Falls Skyforce players Small forwards Toronto Raptors players Undrafted NBA players Washington Wizards players