A Deeper Look at Franz Wagner’s Development & What He Showed During the Magic’s Preseason

One of the league’s most unique players right now is the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner, an NBA All-Rookie First Team member last year. It’s hard to find guys 6-foot-10 that are as versatile and savvy as him.

Based on what we have seen over the last month-and-a-half or so from him – starting with his sensational play with the German national team in EuroBasket 2022 and then during the preseason with the Magic – it appears he’s taken another step in his development.

In what ways has he improved, and what remains unknown going forward? Let’s take a deeper look.

No matter whether you want to classify him as a point forward or point guard – in some ways it’s insignificant because the Magic are in the process of creating a position-less system – Wagner has become more comfortable as a lead orchestrator.

It’s quite amazing how similar he is to former Magic great Hedo Turkoglu, one of the best playmaking forwards of his era. For a couple years in the late 2000s, he and Dwight Howard were arguably the best pick-and-roll duo in the league. Turk’s size, vision, and instincts meshed extraordinarily well with Howard’s athleticism, power, tenacity, and finishing ability at the rim.

Wagner has become more slick operating out of the pick-and-roll. His timing with his passing was impeccable in all three of the preseason games he appeared in.

It’s nothing new, but the 21-year-old’s footwork on drives is one of his best features. This was brought up a quite a bit last season, but it’s like a diet version of Manu Ginobili. Now, to be fair, Ginobili was much faster, more acrobatic, and more creative on his drives, but the way Wagner weaves in and out of traffic while keeping his dribble alive is similar. And remember, Wagner is 6’10; Ginobili was 6’6 – which adds to the uniqueness of Wagner’s game.

While he doesn’t (yet) have an extensive shot-creating package, Wagner’s step-back jumper is pretty good. He made several of them for Germany in EuroBasket, as well as a big one late in the Magic’s preseason victory over the Grizzlies at Amway Center.

What really separates Wagner from a lot of other 6-foot-10-and-above playmakers is that he’s an extremely good defender as well – accentuated when he picked the pocket of the electric Ja Morant right after drilling that clutch 3-pointer. He also poked the ball away from Dillon Brooks earlier in that game.

Expect Wagner to flirt with triple-doubles quite frequently this season and beyond. He’ll probably record at least a few this year. He came close to one in that victory over Memphis, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

What we still don’t know is whether Wagner’s free throw rate will increase. He took nine total foul shots in his three exhibition games. With how relentless he is attacking the basket, it would be a game-changer for him if he can initiate contact more often. Last season, he averaged just 2.8 free throw attempts per contest. He’s a great shooter from the line, though, making 86.3 percent of his tries in 2021-22.

When he’s not the one creating with the ball in his hands, Wagner will have to continue to be a proficient spot-up jump shooter. Last year, he shot 43 percent on spot-ups – well above the league average – on 228 attempts. Only Chuma Okeke took more spot-up jumpers on the Magic in 2021-22 than Wagner.

He rarely took mid-range shots last year. Only 38 of his 975 shot attempts came from between 10 and 14 feet out and only 16 of them came from between 15 and 19 feet out. Combined, he made just 18 of those 54 shots (33.3 percent). It remains to be seen if he will take more shots from the mid-range going forward.

Asked recently what he believes enhanced the most about his game over the summer, Wagner said, “I think I matured a little bit, and I think my shooting – I think I got better at that.”