The Orlando Magic are watching one of their best young players, Franz Wagner, shine in the highly competitive Eurobasket tournament. Wagner, one of several NBA players to lead the German team, recently had a performance that will make Orlando fans swoon.
Wagner had a huge game against Lithuania, which rosters NBA players like Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis. He dropped 32 points on 12-20 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, four triples and two assists. Germany won 109-107 in double overtime.
Franz Wagner is teaming up with Dennis Schröder and Daniel Theis to help lead Germany to a 3-0 record so far in the FIBA tournament. The squad is at the top of the Group B standings, which features other teams with NBA talent like Lithuania, Slovenia (Luka Doncic and Goran Dragic) and France (Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier). The 21-year-old is Germany's leading scorer so far with 19.3 points per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field.
Wagner had a very successful rookie season with the Magic, as he was one of the many contenders for the Rookie of the Year award. He showcased a strong ability to score and defensive abilities that bode well for his future in the league. As Orlando rebuilds around young players, his contributions to the team and development will be extremely key.
As first overall pick Paolo Banchero starts taking the role of the Magic's centerpiece moving forward, he will need guys to lean on. Franz Wagner will be one of the main ones on both sides of the ball.