Everyone is always trained and focused on Franz Wagner.
As Eurobasket gets set to begin, everyone is curious how this young star will take his next steps. There is outsized attention on his shooting. That seems to be the missing piece to his offensive game. The thing that he must add for the Magic to take a step up is the other parts of his game.
Even when Wagner is not scoring, he must find ways to impact games.
That can certainly come from the spacing and threat of his shooting. He is expert at attacking defenses that are imbalanced and trying to close out on him. A defender leaning the wrong way is exactly what he is looking for.
But Wagner is entering some new spaces. He is entering a new class of player.
If he is the All-Star everyone believes he will be this season, that means defenses are going to crowd and deter him. He must make them pay even if he is not scoring.
That is the true next step for Wagner. Everyone knows he can squeeze his way into the paint and score seemingly at will.
Even in a poor shooting game like he had Thursday in Germany's 106-105 overtime win over Spain, Wagner could put up points. He had 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting (including 0 for 6 from three as his shooting continues to be a concern). He got to the line to make 9 of 13 free throws.
Germany is going to lean heavily on Wagner and his creation ability. They are going to lean on him getting to the line and putting pressure on defenses. That he has been getting to the line so much in these exhibition games is a good sign.
So too is his passing. That is another area Wagner could stand to improve. To see him kick out for seven assists, even if there were more left on the board on a horrible shooting night for Germany -- avery Orlando Magic-like 11 for 42 (26.2 percent).
Wagner can score and attack with the best of them. It is the other ways he can impact games that needs to grow for the Magic to be successful and for him to reach his potential.
Wagner as a passer
Everyone knows what Franz Wagner is as a scorer at this point.
He averaged 24.2 points per game last year and is someone the Orlando Magic will lean on to carry significant weight as a scorer. Even with his 3-point shooting struggles, he posted a 50.7 percent effective field goal percentage and 55.8 percent true shooting percentage.
The Magic are never worried about Wagner finding a way to put the ball in the hoop. Even when he is facing a loaded-up defense.
Playing alongside Paolo Banchero with the attention he takes from him only helps. The hope is that adding more shooting like Desmond Bane or Jalen Suggs creates even more space.
But where Wagner has not quite clicked is in his ability to get others involved consistently.
Wagner averaged a career-high 4.7 assists per game. So he has taken a step up in that direction. He averaged 9.3 potential assists per game, right in line with Banchero's number (9.4 per game).
Wagner averaged only 41.1 passes per game, ranking behind both Suggs and Banchero (and incidentally behind Bane's number from last year). Wagner is not a high-volume passer. When he drives, he is typically driving to score.
It will become even more important if defenses are going to collapse on him, that he keeps others involved.
Seeing him have seven assists in this friendly against Spain -- a team that tried to go to a zone to keep him out of the paint and off the foul line -- was an encouraging sign. His season-high in assists last year was 11 in that win over the Los Angeles Lakers on the road. He had seven or more assists just 11 times last year (the Magic went 10-1 in those games).
A Wagner who is attacking to score but also soaking up attention to pass will lead to a lot of Magic wins. It was part of what flipped in the win over Spain. In the second half, Wagner struggled to be aggressive and struggled to move the ball.
That slowed Germany's offense. Wagner's passing is key to opening up this offense.
Wagner getting to the line
So too is Franz Wagner's ability to be a constant stream of scoring even if the shots are not going down.
Franz Wagner is not a battering ram like Paolo Banchero is. His game has more finesse in it where he weaves through traffic and Euro steps into a stop for a floater over the defense. Wagner is not always seeking contact.
But he can do a better job at getting to the line.
Last year, Wagner averaged 5.2 free throw attempts per game. That is still a healthy amount of free throws. Only 33 players averaged 5.0 or more free throw attempts per game last year. Wagner gets to the line a healthy amount.
But Wagner could still improve as a foul drawer.
He averaged a team-high 13.3 drives per game according to data from Second Spectrum. He drew only 1.2 fouls per game off those drives (Banchero, for reference, drew 2.0 fouls per game on 11.9 drives per game).
Wagner's game is all about putting pressure on the rim and pressure on defenses. He has mastered how to score and attack defenses.
Now comes the other things that stars must accomplish. He must learn when it is time for him to kick out and pass and when to force his way to the line. The ball is in his hands a lot, and these decisions ripple out to his teammates.
Those decisions will be spread out more when he rejoins the Orlando Magic. For the German national team, he has to carry a lot more weight and make a lot of these decisions. When he -- or Dennis Schroder, who hit the game-winning bucket and carried the offense throughout overtime -- struggles, the team stagnates.
It is a lot of responsibility. But it will help Wagner improve and help him be the leader and creator the Magic will ultimately need.
It will help him find more ways to impact these games.