Franz Wagner is on the verge of becoming a superstar in the NBA. His current performances give an idea of the potential he still has.
Dirk Nowitzki is undoubtedly the greatest basketball star in German history. With the Dallas Mavericks he achieved one success after another and became the first German to win the NBA title in 2011. In 2023 he was also the first German to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the most famous hall of fame in basketball. Now another German basketball player has set out to write a similar success story: Franz Wagner from the Orlando Magic.
“He’s an All-Star, really,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley recently said about the Berliner. Franz Wagner is playing big in the current NBA season and has significantly increased his points average compared to his first years in the NBA. After 24 games he is currently averaging 24.2 points per game.
Wagner delivered another brilliant performance in the last Magic game, leading his team with a strong 35 points to a final score of 106:102 in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. It was the seventh game this season in which the 23-year-old scored over 30 points. Orlando has now won seven of its last eight games and is in third place in the Eastern Conference.
“I now have many more opportunities to be on the ball and am in situations where I can make decisions much more often,” said Wagner. However, there is still room for improvement: “I’m still learning a lot and to be honest I feel like there are a lot of things I can improve on – so I hope I can do that.”
Wagner began his professional career in 2017 at Alba Berlin, where he made his Bundesliga debut at the age of 16. Two years later he decided to move to the USA to the University of Michigan, for which he played in the NCAA college league. Although he was initially set back by a hand injury, he was quickly able to draw attention to himself with his performances. In 2021, he also took part in the NBA draft for the best young players.
The Orlando Magic took eighth place because they saw great potential in him. “I can’t wait to get to Orlando,” Wagner said upon his selection. “It feels great, a dream come true.” He announced back then that he always wanted to get better: “I am someone who always wants to learn, always want to get better, who is never satisfied. I will work hard to become the best basketball player I can be in Orlando and to support the team as best as possible.”
He has now succeeded. With him, the Orlando Magic have a great chance of playing an important role in the current NBA season. The team where basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal began his career in the 1990s sees a lot in Wagner. This became clear last summer.
In July 2024, Franz Wagner signed a new five-year contract worth 211 million euros, making him one of the highest-paid German athletes of all time. With certain performance bonuses, the sum can even increase to up to 254 million euros. With this contract alone, Wagner has already earned more than Dirk Nowitzki in his entire 21 years with the Dallas Mavericks.
“I’m extremely proud that he made it. When he started with us, he was so down-to-earth. His character is very, very strong. As a person, he deserves it, of course on the field too,” commented Dennis Schröder , the captain of the German national basketball team, Wagner’s mega contract. Schröder plays in the NBA for the Brooklyn Nets. In the summer of 2023, Schröder and Wagner surprisingly became world champions together with the German national basketball team. With this coup, Wagner has even trumped Nowitzki, who was the face of the national team for years but was unable to win a major title with him.