In one moment during last summer's Olympics, Franz Wagner made the world take notice.
During a group play game against France, Wagner scored 26 points for Germany, including a huge dunk over Victor Wembanyama. Two huge dunks over the young French center.
It was part of yet another breakout offseason for Wagner. One where he announced himself to the wider NBA world. That announcement continued into the regular season when Wagner took over and carried the Orlando Magic through the early part of the season with Paolo Banchero out with a torn oblique.
His step-back 3-pointer to beat the Los Angeles Lakers on an otherwise quiet Tuesday night was the start of a second six-game win streak that had everyone believing the Magic had made the leap. They well might have if not for Wagner himself tearing his oblique. He surely would have been an All-Star for the first time, too.
Wagner came back and played well. He averaged a career-high 24.2 points per game and followed that up with 25.8 points per game in the Playoffs. Wagner established himself as a future star for the team.
But this summer has also been one of questions.
For a second straight season, he shot worse than 30 percent from three, developing a noticeable hitch or change to his shot form after returning from the oblique injury. While Wagner was no strong shooter before the injury, he seemed back to normal before the injury.
As the Magic now eye contending for a championship, all the praise heaped on Wagner has turned into pressure. Pressure to get his shot right and pressure to cement himself as a second star.
Orlando does not seem to be concerned about that. The team, after all, gave Wagner a max contract last summer. It pushed its chips in to acquire Desmond Bane because Orlando believes in what Franz Wagner can be.
That is seemingly the real question: What path will Wagner's career take him? He indeed looks like an All-Star and maybe even like an all-time great Hall of Famer.
Wagner took a lot from Wade
At last year's Olympics, Dwyane Wade, broadcasting games for NBC's coverage, got his first chance to see Franz Wagner in person and came away impressed with the Magic forward.
"I put on my Instagram that I've just become a big fan of Franz Wagner," Wade told BasketNews last year. "You don't get to see Orlando Magic a lot on TV. And so to be able to see him up close and personal, we just saw something pretty special.
"This guy has a big, bright future in front of him. So just the chance to sit there and watch the pros do what they do best... It's incredible."
Wagner showed his respect and took the compliment like the big Wade fan that he is.
It is hard not to see a little resemblance in their games, too. Wagner certainly took a lot of the way he navigates through traffic in the paint from Wade, even if he does not have the same kind of explosiveness.
Wade was a standout scorer who was not a particularly effective 3-point shooter. He finished his career averaging 22.0 points per game and shooting 48.0 percent from the field. He ended his career shooting 29.3 percent from three, topping off at 33.0 percent in his final season with the Miami Heat.
Wade is a good example of how even in the modern NBA, players can survive without a consistent 3-point shot. Although, maybe those times have ended.
Wagner is at 19.1 points per game, 47.4 percent shooting and 32.2 percent from three. Wade had a career true shooting percentage of 55.4 percent. Wagner is at 57.1 percent.
Their shot profiles are also shockingly similar. Wade had an average field goal distance of 10.6 feet and took 34.5 percent of his field goal attempts within three feet, according to Basketball-Reference.
Wagner is at an average field goal distance of 11.5 feet and 33.6 percent of his total field goal attempts within three feet. He shoots 69.9 percent on those close-up shots (Wade was at 65.5 percent for his career).
Statistically and even stylistically it is easy to see a potential comparison.
Wagner is shooting for lofty standards
Of course, Dwyane Wade is an incredibly lofty standard. He is one of the best shooting guards in league history and redefined how guards attack the basket.
Franz Wagner took a lot from watching him growing up and evolved it into his 6-foot-10 frame. If the Orlando Magic have Wagner as just a jumbo-sized Wade, that is still a huge get for them.
But it is difficult to hold anyone to the high standards of a hall of fame player.
Ultimately, the league Wade played in is very different than the league Wagner is playing in. And what the Magic need from Wagner is very different. With little and inconsistent shooting on the team, they need Wagner to step up as a shooter in a way the Miami Heat never needed from Wade.
But this Magic team this offseason is not hiding from those lofty expectations. They have boldly claimed their goal is to win a championship, and they are not satisfied with competing in a weakened Eastern Conference. This team wants to be in it for the long haul.
If Paolo Banchero gets compared to LeBron James for his bulldozing style of play, it is not strange to think that Franz Wagner is his Dwyane Wade, a star in his own right who can create shots for himself.
Wagner still has work to do to get to that level. And in this modern NBA, he has to straighten out his 3-point shooting.
But Wagner is well on his way to an All-Star and All-NBA season. He just has to follow one of his idols.