Franz Wagner continues his amazing development after the first year in the NBA with the national team and is on course to become a leader in his first major tournament. In the game for group victory at the European Basketball Championships against Slovenia, the German team will again rely on its young star on Tuesday evening (September 6th, 2022).
Never before have so many stars from the NBA gathered at a European Basketball Championship. The organizers also put up large posters everywhere, around the Cologne Arena. The German fans have already been able to see a few of the NBA greats live, at the preliminary round games of the German team: France’s Rudy Gobert and Lithuania’s Jonas Valanciunas, for example, two players who are scary just because of their physique.
The two NBA stars have one more thing in common: they were each overshadowed by another player who was missing from the advertising banners but has so far been the tournament’s real poster boy. Franz Wagner, who turned 21 a few days ago, is already almost indispensable for the German team.
Wagner decisive man against Lithuania
In the opening win against France, Wagner played a key role in the strong defensive performance of the German team, which eliminated the French stars around Gobert from the game. Lithuania’s star Valanciunas scored 34 points against Germany. In the end, however, this was outshined, not only because of the German 109:107 success, by the performance of the young German NBA professional on the other side: Franz Wagner, in the Orlando Magic under contract, became a decisive factor in the German attacking game.
Again and again he made Valanciunas look old, Lithuania’s basket keeper had to move out of the zone again and again to ward off Wagner’s attacks. And then it usually came too late to prevent the young German high-flyer from successfully completing – or from Wagner being able to pass the ball to a free teammate.
Ten points in a row before the half-time break
Before half-time Wagner scored ten points in a row – and after that it was hard to stop, although Lithuania’s defense did almost everything: Once Wagner sank the ball more than one and a half meters behind the three-point line in the Lithuanian basket.
At the other end of the field, he successfully stopped the Valanciunas who had broken through – and then cheered up the crowd in the hall. By then, at the latest, the 21-year-old had also taken on the role of the emotional leader, in a nerve-wracking atmosphere, against a passionately fighting opponent with more than 5,000 enthusiastic fans traveling with him in the hall.
Maodo Lo on Franz Wagner: “It’s a blessing to have him on the team”
“He’s just amazing, something very special. His understanding of the game, his aggressiveness, his mental strength. What impresses me the most is the calmness he exudes on the field” Maodo Lo said after the game about his young teammate. “He’s a great guy, even off the court. It’s a blessing for us to have him on the team.” The national coach Gordon Herbert emphasized Wagner’s great modesty and his willingness to learn: “He’s a player who makes it very easy for you as a coach.“
Before the tournament, the German Basketball Association (DBB) had secretly hoped that Wagner, after an impressive debut season in the NBA, where he was voted one of the top five rookies, could also play an important role in the national team. However, it was not expected that the young Berliner would actually shoulder so much responsibility during his first summer in the DBB team.
From college to the NBA – the steep rise of Franz Wagner
It is the next step in the steep ascent of the Berliner, who made his professional debut at 16 and, like his brother Moritz, ended up in the NBA through college as one of the ten best talents of the draft year. Long-time companions like Marius Huth, junior coach at Alba Berlin, are less surprised: “Physically, he has developed enormously in the past three or four years“said Huth, who trained young Franz at Alba when he was nine and is also in action for the DBB at the European Championships.
Huth remembers Wagner’s determination and special ambition, which set him apart from all the other kids in training as a twelve-year-old. “Mentally and in character he was always ready, he does everything for success. He’s less extroverted. But he never lacked self-confidence.“
New self-confidence in the DBB team – also thanks to Franz Wagner
On his debut for the national team this summer, Wagner brought a certain carefree attitude to the team from the start. The fact that he arrived at the German team unencumbered by the recent past, especially the failure at the 2019 World Cup, must have helped him.
Right from the start, however, Wagner also demonstrated a new self-image in the German team, whose level of performance had been questioned before the tournament, especially after difficult preparation and numerous failures. He was also one of the few in the team to take on the federation’s ambitious goal ahead of the tournament and represent it externally: “We have set ourselves the big goal of getting a medal“. Battle announcements that you only heard from Dennis Schröder before.
Wagner may not see it as a big surprise that the German team has so far rushed through the preliminary round so convincingly, in by far the most difficult group of the tournament with three title candidates: “We have a lot of talent, our team chemistry is very good. We know we always have a chance, we go into every game with confidence.“
Final against Slovenia for group victory
After three victories, the German team qualified early for the round of 16 in Berlin, where all other games would also take place up to a possible final for the European title. For the youngster in the DBB team, this is another special point: “I’m from Berlin, haven’t played there for three years“said Wagner. “It’s really cool to come back now, as a national team player, for these big games.“
On Tuesday evening (September 6th, 2022, 8.30 p.m.) the German team will first face Slovenia in Cologne, in the anticipated final for group victory. And against Luka Doncic, another world celebrity in basketball. On the other hand there is someone like Franz Wagner, who is not afraid of big names: “The best team wins here. And not the team with the best individual players.“The course of events at this European Championship so far has proved him right.