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Franz Wagner was well on his way to becoming a first-time All-Star this season and was potentially piecing together an All-NBA campaign before he suffered the same injury as fellow standout forward Paolo Banchero — a torn right abdominal muscle — just over a month later.
In the first 20 games without Banchero, the Magic turned to Wagner for leadership in more ways than one as Orlando went 13-7 with the German forward averaging 26.1 points, 6.3 assists and 6 rebounds.
Challenges arrived again when Wagner missed 20 games in December and January because of an injury that altered the trajectory of his own and Orlando’s season.
Playing the fewest games of his career (60), Wagner returned to help Jamahl Mosley‘s squad go 41-41 and win a Play-In game before a second straight first-round exit in the playoffs.
He views the entire experience as growth after his fourth year in the league.
“I was put into a little bit of a new spot when Paolo went out and looking back on it, I handled it pretty well,” Wagner said. “I was pleased with how I was playing then. For me, the injury was at a terrible time because I felt like we were rolling as a team.
“But that’s how it goes sometimes,” he added. “I handled it well — the injury and the rehab stuff. I played a decent second half of season, got better at a couple of things and also saw a couple of things I need to improve on.”
Perhaps the most glaring difference in Wagner’s play pre- and post-injury was his 3-point shot.
Expectedly, the amount of time he missed disrupted his rhythm, and his form from distance changed.
“If you look at the numbers, it probably did a little bit,” Wagner said when asked if the injury which occurred on the same of his body as where he shoots from impacted his form. “Sometimes, it got slower and a little bit less fluid. So, those things I’m going to work on.”
In the first 24 games prior to getting hurt, Wagner shot 32.7% from beyond the arc on 6.1 attempts, meaning he made 2 triples per game.
In 24 games following his return to the court, he shot 27% on 5.1 attempts, meaning he made only 1.4.
Wagner believes some of his issues were mental more than physical.
“I’m sure some of you guys golf: If you have 10 things in your mind, you’re not going to shoot it well that day,” he said. “Just the way my mind works, it’s been a problem for me, honestly, not just in the NBA, just in life in general.
“So that’s my challenge for the summer and that has an impact on my shot as well,” he added.
Mosley said Wagner is not dealing with any injury that he was aware of and he’s not concerned about the Magic forward fixing his long-range shot in the offseason.
“He’s not a person that I ever worry about from a work ethic standpoint from mastering his craft,” Mosley said.
Eligible for extension, Magic’s Paolo Banchero reflects on Year 3
To be sure, Wagner still pieced together a strong showing despite the struggles from distance and missing almost two months of the season.
He averaged career highs of 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 87.1% from the free throw line.
Wagner had 15 games this season with 25-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists, which was tied for 10th-most in the league. Entering this season, Wagner had just seven such games during the first three years of his career.
“He’s somebody that you can rely on night in and night out to be able to work and do the right thing by his team as well as preparing himself every night to be the best that he can be,” Mosley said.
Wagner plans to take some time off this month before returning to the court to work on his game.
After participating in the Las Vegas Summer League in 2021 and competing for the German National Team at EuroBasket in ’22, the FIBA World Cup in ’23 and the Paris Olympics last year, this summer could be his first since becoming a pro with no obligations elsewhere.
He’s undecided on returning to EuroBasket, which takes place in late August across Europe.
“That’s going to be a conversation,” he said. “I love playing for my country and I love the guys that I play with there. It’s always a great time. It’s also at the end of the summer, so there’s still a lot of time left before that. I hate to always promise stuff, so I’ll see how I feel and how the summer goes.
“Plans are kind of tentative at this point but we’ll make sure I have a good setup to make sure I get better,” he added.
Getting better on an individual and team-wide level is the goal for the entire franchise as the Magic aim to advance past the first round of the playoffs a year from now.
Wagner was pleased to hear team president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman declare Orlando will “shift to looking at the world through more of a ‘win now’ lens.”
“It’s a natural progression of where we’re going,” Wagner said. “Hopefully we get better as a group and keep the same of vibe that we had here.”
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Continue reading...
In the first 20 games without Banchero, the Magic turned to Wagner for leadership in more ways than one as Orlando went 13-7 with the German forward averaging 26.1 points, 6.3 assists and 6 rebounds.
Challenges arrived again when Wagner missed 20 games in December and January because of an injury that altered the trajectory of his own and Orlando’s season.
Playing the fewest games of his career (60), Wagner returned to help Jamahl Mosley‘s squad go 41-41 and win a Play-In game before a second straight first-round exit in the playoffs.
He views the entire experience as growth after his fourth year in the league.
“I was put into a little bit of a new spot when Paolo went out and looking back on it, I handled it pretty well,” Wagner said. “I was pleased with how I was playing then. For me, the injury was at a terrible time because I felt like we were rolling as a team.
“But that’s how it goes sometimes,” he added. “I handled it well — the injury and the rehab stuff. I played a decent second half of season, got better at a couple of things and also saw a couple of things I need to improve on.”
Perhaps the most glaring difference in Wagner’s play pre- and post-injury was his 3-point shot.
Expectedly, the amount of time he missed disrupted his rhythm, and his form from distance changed.
“If you look at the numbers, it probably did a little bit,” Wagner said when asked if the injury which occurred on the same of his body as where he shoots from impacted his form. “Sometimes, it got slower and a little bit less fluid. So, those things I’m going to work on.”
In the first 24 games prior to getting hurt, Wagner shot 32.7% from beyond the arc on 6.1 attempts, meaning he made 2 triples per game.
In 24 games following his return to the court, he shot 27% on 5.1 attempts, meaning he made only 1.4.
Wagner believes some of his issues were mental more than physical.
“I’m sure some of you guys golf: If you have 10 things in your mind, you’re not going to shoot it well that day,” he said. “Just the way my mind works, it’s been a problem for me, honestly, not just in the NBA, just in life in general.
“So that’s my challenge for the summer and that has an impact on my shot as well,” he added.
Mosley said Wagner is not dealing with any injury that he was aware of and he’s not concerned about the Magic forward fixing his long-range shot in the offseason.
“He’s not a person that I ever worry about from a work ethic standpoint from mastering his craft,” Mosley said.
Eligible for extension, Magic’s Paolo Banchero reflects on Year 3
To be sure, Wagner still pieced together a strong showing despite the struggles from distance and missing almost two months of the season.
He averaged career highs of 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 87.1% from the free throw line.
Wagner had 15 games this season with 25-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists, which was tied for 10th-most in the league. Entering this season, Wagner had just seven such games during the first three years of his career.
“He’s somebody that you can rely on night in and night out to be able to work and do the right thing by his team as well as preparing himself every night to be the best that he can be,” Mosley said.
Wagner plans to take some time off this month before returning to the court to work on his game.
After participating in the Las Vegas Summer League in 2021 and competing for the German National Team at EuroBasket in ’22, the FIBA World Cup in ’23 and the Paris Olympics last year, this summer could be his first since becoming a pro with no obligations elsewhere.
He’s undecided on returning to EuroBasket, which takes place in late August across Europe.
“That’s going to be a conversation,” he said. “I love playing for my country and I love the guys that I play with there. It’s always a great time. It’s also at the end of the summer, so there’s still a lot of time left before that. I hate to always promise stuff, so I’ll see how I feel and how the summer goes.
“Plans are kind of tentative at this point but we’ll make sure I have a good setup to make sure I get better,” he added.
Getting better on an individual and team-wide level is the goal for the entire franchise as the Magic aim to advance past the first round of the playoffs a year from now.
Wagner was pleased to hear team president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman declare Orlando will “shift to looking at the world through more of a ‘win now’ lens.”
“It’s a natural progression of where we’re going,” Wagner said. “Hopefully we get better as a group and keep the same of vibe that we had here.”
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Continue reading...
