ORLANDO (USA) – Franz Wagner reached a milestone this season with the Orlando Magic.
Nothing surprising after his remarkable summer with the Germany jersey, notably being the author of one of the most beautiful dunks in the history of the Olympic Tournament during the first confrontation against France.
Wagner’s spectacular dunk against France
His recent nomination as “NBA Player of the Week” is just further proof.
And to celebrate obtaining this award, Wagner scored the three-point basket of victory against the Lakers, inflicting the Californians their first defeat of the season at home.
His statistics in this match:
✅ 37 points ✅ 6 rebounds ✅ 11 assists ✅ 4 steals ✅ 4 made three-pointers
Magic and Germany fans have reason to get excited about Wagner’s current stats, his 4the season in the NBA: 23.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game – the best of his career.
After the success last Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns (109-99), the Magic’s record was 9-6, i.e. 3e of the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland and Boston. This victory was the sixth in a row for the Florida franchise. During this series, Wagner averaged 29.0 points per game. His records in the last four games: 32 points against Charlotte, 29 against Indiana, 31 against Philadelphia and 32 against the Suns.
“I no longer really focus on the total points he scores, because 30-point records have become normal”comments his brother Moritz.
The 2.08 m winger gets a lot of attention with his dribbling in the middle of traffic and his ability to attack the basket, so much so that he is readily compared to the legendary Argentinian of the San Antonio Spurs Manu Ginobili, whose 1.98 stood out. on the international scene.
Wagner, MVP of the 2023 FIBA World Cup final, is performing so well that a place in the next NBA All-Star Game seems to be in store for him. The last German to have this honor is none other than Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
Over the past three summers,he rigors of the NBA have been replaced by the great demands of international basketball. Combined with the tireless individual work of the young German, they allowed Wagner to accelerate his development and make him more competitive than ever.
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But the hours spent in the German selection played a very important role in Wagner’s enormous progress, like what happened to Lauri Markkanen with the Finland jersey at FIBA EuroBasket 2022. The Susijengi had entrusted a lot of balls to Markkanen, often giving him carte blanche. He was able to seize this opportunity and the results were immediately felt by the Utah Jazz, his club deciding to give him more responsibilities following the continental tournament.
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What Franz and Mo did at the Olympics, their ability to perform at such a level, will help us enormously – Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic coach
About Franz, his coach in Orlando Jamahl Mosley is convinced that the summer and the Olympic experience have made him better.
“He has matured as a player. As a leader, he is incredible”he said.
“What Franz and Mo did at the Olympics, their ability to perform at such a level, will help us enormously. This is how teams can improve. Your young people work hard to progress during the summer and they accumulate experience at the same time”adds the American coach.
The level of competition in international basketball has certainly strengthened Wagner’s resolve. He is not afraid to take charge in important moments.
Wagner entered the summer following a frustrating 2023-24 season, with a loss and elimination after Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs against Cleveland. Wagner had scored 26 points in the success in game 6 (103-96) to force a game 7, but he then missed his point in the last with a very meager 1 out of 15 on shots and a 0 out of 6 in three points in the 104-96 loss that prematurely ended the Magic’s season.
“Obviously I had much higher expectations. I feel like I let my team down a bit.”he declared just after the elimination of his team.
Wagner, judging by his actions in the weeks that followed, through hard work and determination, was able to invest the time and resources necessary to correct the situation as quickly as possible, in accordance with the words of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin: « Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. »
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Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, Wagner and his brother joined their national team and thanks to the Olympics, they found all their motivation.
Wagner had Germany’s best per-game averages in ratings (19.3) and scoring (18.5 points). His 5.8 rebounds were only bested by Daniel Theis’ 7.0 rebounds. He was also the 3e best passer of his team with 2.5 assists per match, being best in interceptions – tied – with 2.0 per match.
And there was also this famous powerful dunk against France.
The podcast “Locked on Magic” highlighted Wagner’s performances at the Olympics after Germany’s stunning success against Greece (76-63), the Germans having found themselves trailing by 15 points.
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These matches with Germany represent the kind of experiences that will help Franz better handle these situations
“Why is this important to the Orlando Magic? “, asked the podcaster. “Because when the Orlando Magic finds itself in the playoffs, when the pressure will be great, when there will be tough matches… this kind of experience will allow Franz Wagner to play better. Participating in the FIBA EuroBasket, the FIBA World Cup, makes Wagner a better player for the Orlando Magic, because he will be better prepared to play these types of matches under high pressure. »
New Germany coach Alex Mumbru would obviously be very excited to be able to field the two Wagner brothers at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 if they qualify.
“They are crazy about basketball. They truly live for their sport. If you have coffee with them, you’ll notice that all they talk about is basketball. They love wearing the German jersey, they appreciate the atmosphere in the national team, that’s why I have high hopes that they will be present at the next continental tournament in 2025. Especially since they will have a little time to recover before then”Alex Mumbru, world champion in 2006 with Spain, told Bild.
But for now, the Wagner brothers only have the destiny of the Orlando Magic in mind. Summer plans will have to wait a bit.
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