It takes a lot for a seasoned broadcaster like Jeff Turner to be surprised by something.
So excuse Turner for being a bit perplexed about why the Sacramento Kings kept single-covering Franz Wagner during the Orlando Magic's 107-100 victory on Tuesday. It was a repeated formula as Wagner drove time after time into the paint as the Magic targeted defenders and won matchups without help.
It was about as easy a time as Wagner has had this year, with injuries taking away much of the Magic's playmaking and creation help. All eyes have typically been on Wagner.
Wagner is still getting used to that attention. But he has still put up some wild numbers and has slowly improves his comfort with all of that attention.
Tuesday's win was the early zenith of his ability. It was helped by that lack of attention.
Wagner finished with an astounding 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He shot 11-for-23 from the floor and 10-for-10 from the line, a 60.2 percent true shooting percentage. It was his third game in 10 with a true shooting percentage better than 60 percent. He had 16 in 34 games last year.
Wagner has always been the darling of the analytics crowd. But what he has done this year feels different.
With a new offense and Paolo Banchero out of the lineup, coach Sean Sweeney has given Franz Wagner full control over the offense. He handles everything. The team goes as he and his decisionmaking often go.
He is everything for this team.
"He is taking a lot of the playmaking load with P5 [Paolo Banchero] and J[alen Suggs] out," Anthony Black said after Tuesday's win. "There is a lot of advantage creation. He is doing a really good job getting to the paint, finding his teammates and being aggressive first. Because that is when he is at his best, when he is getting downhill and to the rim. He is playing great basketball, and he is willing his team to victory on both sides of the ball."
Wagner finished Tuesday's game with a 33.0 percent usage rate. He had 102 touches (Desmond Bane was second on the team with 62). He made 33 drives in the game, according to data from Second Spectrum.
That is a player who is doing everything for his team. The Magic often struggled to function offensively when Wagner was off the floor -- a 113.3 offensive rating with him on the floor and a 100.0 offensive rating with him off the floor (only Alex Morales was better in Tuesday's game).
This is what is typical for Wagner. The numbers back up what everyone can clearly see: Wagner is doing everything.
Hard driving, heavy possession
Coach Sean Sweeney's main focus offensively has been building the proper spacing around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to give them the room to attack downhill and pressure the defense with their size and vision. He has involved the duo in more actions together to try to pressure defenses even more.
Even with Banchero in the lineup, Wagner was handling the ball a lot more. Banchero averaged 77.0 touches per game in the first two games, while Wagner was at 66.0 per game. And that number for Wagner was up from 48.9 per game in the 2026 season and 62.8 per game in the 2025 season.
With both Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero out, the team's two leaders in touches per game through the first two games, Franz Wagner has done even more. He has averaged 91.3 touches per game since Banchero's injury. That ranks second in the league since Oct. 25 behind only Nikola Jokic.
Wagner has a usage rate of 28.3 percent, the highest of his career. Everything runs through him.
That is seen in his drives. According to Second Spectrum, Wagner leads the league 27.0 per game, 2.2 per game more than second-place Deni Avdija. Wagner scores 12.8 points per game off those drives (fourth in the league) and shoots 52.9 percent.
The Magic have put the ball in Wagner's hands. He is making all of the decisions and is the engine for the team's offense in almost every way -- this season the Magic have a 109.1 offensive rating with Wagner on the floor and a team-worst 97.2 when he is off the floor.
Everything for this Magic team is centering on Wagner. And without him, the Magic have struggled to function.
The passing growth
The most obvious area of growth for Franz Wagner has not been entirely in his usage.
He has always been a heavy driver and someone the Magic put the ball in his hands. They may have run more offense through Paolo Banchero, but Franz Wagner got his shots and played on and off the ball effectively. Wagner fit in gaps within the offense nad made it better.
With the ball in his hands, Wagner has had to show more growth as a passer and playmaker.
Outside of his spotty jump shooting, nothing has changed more than Wagner's ability to make passes and work off the dribble. As he has seen more double teams and attention than ever before considering how much he is using the ball.
Wagner has responded, averaging 8.6 assists per game, fourth in the league. Wagner is making more of these reads and passes than ever before. Everything is running through him.
Where in his previous seasons, his touches were focused on his scoring. Now his touches have added that playmaking element. He is whipping passes to teammates and drawing all the attention to him.
That is what made the Kings' decision to single-cover him for most of the game so astounding.
You cannot single-cover Wagner anymore because he will work his way to the paint and score. But doubling him leads to passes.
He said he must still improve in this area. His turnovers are still too high -- his 4.4 per game is third-highest in the league. That comes with the increase in touches and responsibility.
Orlando must find a better way to balance his possessions. They must find him some help to alleviate this responsibility.
But like the previous two years when Wagner was pushed to the front to lead the team in Banchero's absence, he is growing into the role.
He has never done more and never garenered so much attention. He will not be seing single coverage much anymore.
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