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What we’ve learned through one week of Orlando Magic’s FIBA friendlies

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Paolo Banchero is still getting comfortable with his role with the United States. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)
Paolo Banchero is still getting comfortable with his role with the United States. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images) /
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BERLIN, GERMANY – 2022/09/18: Aleksander Balcerowski (L) of Poland and Franz Wagner (L2) of Germany seen in action during the third-place game of the FIBA Eurobasket 2022 between Germany and Poland at Mercedes Benz Arena.Final score; Germany 82: 69 Poland. (Photo by Nicholas Muller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY – 2022/09/18: Aleksander Balcerowski (L) of Poland and Franz Wagner (L2) of Germany seen in action during the third-place game of the FIBA Eurobasket 2022 between Germany and Poland at Mercedes Benz Arena.Final score; Germany 82: 69 Poland. (Photo by Nicholas Muller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

What we’ve learned from one week of FIBA play

The Wagners and Georgia

Last summer, Franz Wagner seemingly took the whole NBA world by storm with his impressive performances at EuroBasket for Germany. Orlando Magic fans already knew what he was capable of, but this still seemed to come out of nowhere.

It made everyone irrationally excited for the upcoming season, especially considering the No. 1 pick in Paolo Banchero was also arriving.

What made Wagner’s 2022 EuroBasket so much fun was that it just looked like Wagner did everything he did in his rookie year but better. Everyone was just eager to see him take on more responsibility and maybe be the team leader.

So far in Germany’s games, Franz Wagner is not the driving force for the team — that remains Dennis Schroder — but Wagner has stepped up big in several areas.

In Wednesday’s win over Canada, Wagner hit the go-ahead three-pointer, scoring seven total points in the final three minutes to give Germany the win.

This was really exciting.

Wagner has long been a stellar fourth-quarter performer but seeing him hit clutch shots was truly special.

That was somewhat short-lived as he missed two critical shots in the return match with Canada on Sunday. Canada was able to force overtime and hung on for the win. This came with Schroder off the floor too, putting all the responsibility on Wagner to deliver.

It is OK that he did not. He took the opportunity and he seems unafraid of these moments. That will serve him well.

But Wagner has been all over the place and it is hard not to be impressed with how he has grown. His shooting looks better. His decision-making and his pace are a whole lot better. And he is even rebounding a lot better (although he can still get jostled off his spot).

Like last year, Wagner is doing everything he did as a second-year player but just better.

His brother Moe Wagner seems to be on the same track.

He has had a rough go of it at times as a scorer around the basket. But Wagner still gets the ball in positions to score and he is not afraid to throw his body around and be physical on either end. Wagner has been gobbling up rebounds so far too.

Germany as a team has looked especially dangerous. Between Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner, they have two excellent attackers who can work pick and rolls and put defenders in stitches.

Their biggest weakness is their over-reliance on the three. They can fall into the trap of settling for three-pointers especially since they have so few attackers outside of Schroder and Wagner.