Franz Wagner had the kind of moment that even he could only describe as something that came from a movie this season.
Playing in Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Lakers, in one of the only games going on in that late Pacific Time Zone window, against LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Franz Wagner was the hero and unquestioned star.
In a game that had so much star power and, very quickly, a lot of attention in the NBA world, Wagner was the one who grabbed the spotlight.
It was not merely that he hit the game-winning 3-pointer, celebrating a major moment that started a second six-game win streak in a stretch where the Magic won 12 of 13 games. He had 37 points, six rebounds, 11 assists and four steals. He made 13 of 26 field goals and four of his 10 3-pointers, including that game-winning three.
That game exemplified everything Wagner could be and was throughout the 2025 season. The injury in the middle of his season changed everything, just as it changed everything for the Magic's season.
But the moment -- along with Wagner's stellar run through EuroBasket -- should have made it clear he is one of the brightest up-and-coming stars in the league. But the current Top 100 rankings making the rounds would suggest Wagner has not broken through to that upper echelon.
ESPN's NBA Rank has Wagner as the No. 32 player in the league, notably up 20 spots from his 2024 ranking, but still well below the surefire All-Star that Magic fans believe him to be.
He is ranked among borderline All-Stars like De'Aaron Fox (No. 35), Domantas Sabonis (No. 34), Jaren Jackson Jr. (No. 31) and Scottie Barnes (No. 30). Among those four players, Wagner is the most certain to get the invite to the game in Los Angeles, and not merely because of the league's new U.S.-vs.-World format.
With Paolo Banchero cracking the top 20, but still facing the questions that keep him from being considered a surefire All-NBA player, is yet another example of how ESPN is hedging its bets on the Magic.
They acknowledge Wagner's vast improvement, but are not completely sold on where he is at.
Like it is for so many players on this Magic team, it is another opportunity to prove themselves and their place in the NBA's wider conversation.
Primed to be an All-Star
Like so many other things with the Orlando Magic, the injuries last year changed a lot of the perceptions about this team. The injuries knocked the team down so bad, it felt like a season of arrested development.
Because so much of the season was dedicated to regaining rhythm and finding their groove again, the Magic were very far out of sight and out of mind. Considering the Magic fell short of their preseason goals because of those injuries, everyone seems to focus solely on the negatives.
It is clear that both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are primed to be All-Stars this season. If it were not for the injury in December, Wagner almost certainly would have made his first All-Star Game last year.
After all, it was two weeks after that game against the Los Angeles Lakers, where Jamahl Mosley was shouting in the back hallways of the Xfinity Mobile Center (nee Wells Fargo Arena) in Philadelphia, "All-Star him," after Franz Wagner's 35-point, seven-rebound showing against the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the games played without Banchero last year, Wagner averaged 26.1 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game and 6.3 assists per game. He carried the Magic to a 13-7 record in those 20 games before Wagner suffered his own injury.
That should be clear evidence that Wagner is due to become and ready to be a star player.
If that was not enough evidence, his 25.8 points per game and 5.6 assists per game in the Playoff series with the Boston Celtics should be proof enough. As should be his All-Star 5-worthy performance in EuroBasket, where he averaged 20.8 points per game and had 18 points in the final against Turkiye.
Anyone who is looking at Wagner's record the last two seasons and is not coming to the conclusion he is not a surefire All-Star is delusional.
And that is clearly where ESPN's rankings have gone wrong and underestimated him.
Focused on the negative
There are still undoubtedly areas Franz Wagner needs to improve.
Even at EuroBasket, it felt like Wagner was more comfortable deferring. He scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half of the final and was virtually invisible in the second half. Memories of his frustrating 1-for-15 showing in Game 7 of the 2024 series with the Cleveland Cavaliers still bounce around.
He put a lot of those concerns to rest throughout EuroBasket with big shots in the semifinal win over Finland and quarterfinal win over Slovenia. Not to mention, Wagner hit two clutch shots to ensure the Magic got a win in their Playoff series in Game 3.
More than that, when Banchero was out and the Magic pushed Wagner to the forefront, he did not blink. Wagner raised his game.
That may be one of Wagner's greatest tricks. He is not a traditional star in that he demands the ball and attention. He scores and contributes naturally. Wagner does whatever the game needs from him.
Everyone remains obsessed with his 3-point shooting. It remains the greatest mystery of his career -- going from two solid seasons better than 35 percent to two sub-30-percent seasons. The hitch that developed when he came back from his oblique injury only added to the mystery.
EuroBasket did not quiet those concerns, even though he had a long stretch of solid shooting in group play. Wagner still has a lot to prove.
But that is losing the forest for the trees. Of course a 25-year-old can still get a whole lot better. What matters is that Wagner is already very good. Easily one of the 25 best players in the league and someone who should expect All-Star invites for years to come.
The general conclusion is that while the Magic are considered real players in the NBA now, they are still being vastly underestimated.