For NBA professional Moritz Wagner, the dream of participating in the European Basketball Championships with the final round in his hometown of Berlin suddenly burst.
The 25-year-old Orlando Magic will miss the tournament (September 1-18) with an ankle injury. This was announced by the German Basketball Federation (DBB) on Wednesday.
“It’s difficult to accept that the ankle isn’t playing along at first, but it’s part of it,” said Olympic participant Wagner and was disappointed: “I’ve been looking forward to this tournament and this opportunity for years: to play in Germany, in Cologne and my city of Berlin, with my brother, at a home European Championship was something that I had been dreaming of for a long time now.” Franz Wagner (20), also under contract in Orlando, is part of the DBB squad that started preparing for the EuroBasket last weekend.
“It’s a hard blow for us and especially for himself. He really wanted to play in Germany, in front of his own fans in his country,” said national coach Gordon Herbert. Wagner is “a great basketball player and a really good guy. Health comes first and we all wish Moritz a speedy and full recovery.”
Last year, Wagner had particularly impressed at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Split/Croatia and was named the best player of the tournament.