ORLANDO (USA) - Franz Wagner has taken a leap in quality this season with the Orlando Magic.
That comes as no surprise after another terrific summer with Germany, when he came up with one of the best dunks in Olympic history in the team's first meeting with France.
His recent NBA Player of the Week award is the latest evidence of how good he now is.
And he only doubled down on that fact with a game-winning three against the Lakers, dealing the Los Angeles-based team their first home loss of the season.
Wagner put up these stats in this game.
✅ 37 points ✅ 6 rebounds ✅ 11 assists ✅ 4 steals ✅ 4 three-point shots made
Here's why fans in both the Magic Kingdom and back in Germany are so jacked about Wagner, who's in his fourth season with Orlando. He's averaging 23.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game - all career highs.
Following the 109-99 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, November 19, the Magic were 9-6 and third in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland and Boston. That win was a sixth straight triumph and during the streak, Wagner averaged 29.0 points per game. In the last four games of that winning run, Wagner had scored 32 points against Charlotte, 29 against Indiana, 31 against Philadelphia and 32 against the Suns.
"I don’t really care how many 30 (point) balls he drops because it's just so normal now," his brother Moritz said.
There is so much hype about the 2.08M (6'10") forward Franz Wagner and his penchant for dribbling through traffic and finishing at the rim that he's drawn comparisons to a FIBA legend, Argentina and San Antonio Spurs great Manu Ginobili, who is 1.98M (6'6") in height.
Wagner, the MVP of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Final, is performing so well that he could be in line for a spot on the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team. The last German to do that was national team and Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
The rigors of the NBA have been supplanted by the tough games of international basketball the past three summers, and that, along with the individual work that Wagner has been putting in, has accelerated his growth and also made him more competitive than ever.
Yes, the hours spent with his Germany national team have played an important role in Wagner's ascension to NBA elite. It's similar to what playing for Finland did for Lauri Markkanen at FIBA EuroBasket 2022. The Susijengi liked Markkanen having the ball in his hands and doing whatever he could. He proved to himself and his new team, the Utah Jazz, that he could have a starring role.
What Franz and Mo did in the Olympics, their ability to play at that level is going to help out - Coach Mosley
And when the subject is Franz, Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley says that after the Olympic summer, he's better.
"He has grown as a player," he said. "As a leader, he is incredible."
"I believe that what Franz and Mo [Wagner] did in the Olympics, their ability to play at that level is going to help out", he added. "That’s how teams get better. Your young guys work to get better over the summer and then you add a piece of experience."
The fierce competition of international basketball has clearly stiffened Wagner's resolve. He is not afraid of the big moment.
Wagner went into the summer on the back of a frustrating conclusion to the 2023-34 season, a Game 7 defeat to Cleveland in their First Round Play-Off Series. Wagner had scored 26 points in a 103-96 Game 6 win for Orlando to force the decider, yet was just just 1 of 15 from the floor, and 0 for 6 from 3-point range, in the 104-96 loss that eliminated his team.
"Obviously I expected a lot more from myself," he said immediately after. "I feel like I let my team down a little bit."
Wagner, judging by his actions in the weeks that followed, with his hard work in training and renewed determination, responded as if he'd read French sculptor Auguste Rodin's famous quote, "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."
Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Wagner and his brother joined the national team and got the competitive juices flowing again at the Olympics.
Wagner led Germany with a 19.3 efficiency per game and also in scoring at 18.5 points per game. His 5.8 rebounds per game average was second to Daniel Theis's 7.0 rebounds per game, and he was third on the German team in assists at 2.5 per contest. Wagner was joint first with an average of 2.0 steals per game.
And he also had that dunk, going right down the middle of the lane and putting a couple of French players on a poster.
The podcast Locked on Magic raved about Wagner's play at the Olympics after Germany's 76-63 come-from-behind win over Greece. The Germans had trailed by 15 points.
These games with Germany are the experiences that will help Franz play better in those games
"Why is this important for the Orlando Magic?" the podcaster asked. "Because when the Magic get into playoff situations, when they're in pressure games, when they're in must-win games ... these (Germany games) are the experiences that will help Franz Wagner play better in those games. Just like playing in the EuroBasket, playing in the World Cup made Franz Wagner a better basketball player for the Orlando Magic and made him more prepared to play in those pressure games."
New Germany coach Alex Mumbru will be excited to have both Wagners at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 if they qualify.
"The guys are crazy about basketball," said Mumbru, a 2006 World Cup winner with Spain, to Bild. "They really live for the sport! If you sit down with them and have a coffee, all they talk about is basketball. They really enjoy playing for Germany, they like the atmosphere in the national team. That's why I think they will play in the 2025 European Championship. Especially since they can recover a bit beforehand."
Right now, it's all about the Magic for the Wagners. But summer is coming.
FIBA