Paolo Banchero has eaten up a lot of attention this offseason.
To many, Banchero is the Orlando Magic's superstar. He is the one who carries the largest burden. He has the bigest arguments and criticisms against him. He is the one who has failed to meet expectations.
Some of these are fair, some of these are not.
But it has acted as a shield, allowing Franz Wagner, the Magic's other star, to skate by anonymously.
Nobody expects anything big from Wagner. And so when he pops, he really pops.
The biggest question facing Wagner is whether he can be healthy after missing 20 games with a torn oblique in 2025 and being limited to just 34 games with a high ankle sprain in 2026. Wagner has been a tank otherwise -- playing 79, 80 and 72 games in his first three seasons.
Wagner, unlike Banchero, has exceeded his draft-day expectations. Nobody had him as an All-Star-level player coming out of Michigan. Where Banchero is hated by all the advanced analytics, all of them adore Wagner.
The Magic can point to Wagner's injuries as the turning point in their season and their postseason. And Wagner was clearly not fully healthy in that series, averaging only 16.8 points per game and shooting 43.9 percent from the floor in four games against the Detroit Pistons.
Wagner is vital to the team's success. He is a great foil for Banchero, someone who does not mind playing off the star and deferring to Banchero and his more natural scoring instincts -- something that pops up in the Playoffs.
They need an aggressive Wagner to reach their goals.
Wagner is not a perfect player yet. He has areas he must improve. And a lot of that is just as much in the intangibles as it is for Banchero as a leader and an aggressive creator and attacker.
The Magic clearly thrive in part because of Wagner. Wagner is more flexible in his play styles. He can fit into any lineup.
But the next level for Wagner is to be the star even when Banchero is in the lineup. That will help ease pressure and elevate the Magic.
Stepping up
Franz Wagner has proven he can be a lead player for long stretches.
That was a big question for Franz Wagner when Paolo Banchero suffered a torn oblique just five games into the 2025 season. Wagner had never truly been pushed to the front as the lead player, especially since the team stepped into the postseason.
Wagner is a fiery competitor. But he always seemed more willing to defer, shying away from taking over games. It was a minor frustration among Magic fans despite his taking on more and more responsibility.
When Banchero has been out, though, Wagner has stepped up his play.
He averaged 24.2 points per game in the 2025 season, shooting 46.3 percent from the floor on 19.4 field goal attempts per game and 5.2 free throw attempts per game for the entire season. He had a 55.8 percent true shooting percentage.
In the time Banchero missed before Wagner's own oblique injury, Wagner averaged 26.1 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor on 20.7 field goal attempts per game and 6.1 free throw attempts per game. In addition to a wildly efficient 56.3 percent true shooting percentage, he also averaged 6.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
Those 20 games, where the Magic went 13-7, were revelatory of what Wagner could do.
He did it again last year too, averaging 23.6 points per game with 49.4 percent shooting on 16.4 field goal attempts per game and 7.6 free throw attempts per game when Banchero was out with the strained groin. Wagner posted a 59.8 percent true shooting percentage.
Wagner can clearly step up his game. The Magic have steadily increased his usage, peaking at 31.0 percent in the 2025 season when the team relied on him for so much before his injury, and settling at 27.0 percent last year with the addition of Desmond Bane and his own slow return at the end of the season.
A healthy Wagner gives the Magic a huge weapon offensively. Something the team was desperately missing last year.
It is easy to forget how much the team missed Wagner.
It seemed that Wagner was making the most sacrifices to accommodate Bane. It should probably be the opposite. The team needs Wagner to be more aggressive.
A more aggressive Franz
Franz Wagner will always get his level of shots. But it is just as important that the Orlando Magic have an aggressive Wagner at all times.
Wagner is a heavy driver, averaging 10.2 drives per game according to Second Spectrum data. He shot 47.3 percent on drives and had a 7.8 percent assist rate.
During the period Paolo Banchero was out, it jumped to 11.4 drives per game. He shot 51.5 percent on those drives and had an 8.8 percent assist rate.
People do not worry about Wagner because he can scale up or down as necessary. If anything, the goal should be to get him to be this aggressive all the time and not just when he is forced to do so.
That might be the biggest task for the Magic.
Wagner is naturally more reticent. He seems happier to defer. And his playoff performances have not always shown him glowingly -- certainly not as much as Banchero, which is why these two players need each other and complement each other at least by personality so well.
There will be an undercurrent that the Magic have to choose between one of these two stars. And the ultimate question might come down to whether the Magic truly believe they can build a leading offense and a championship team with Wagner as the main player.
They need an aggressive Wagner to reach their goals.
That is still vital to the team's success. They need Wagner to play like he does without Banchero to reach their championship aspirations.
Health always comes first. And a healthy Wagner truly elevates this team into a different class. They need him to be able to play off of Banchero just as Banchero needs to do better playing off of Wagner.
But Wagner's next leap -- including his shooting, which has not been mentioned yet is a piece of this -- is just as critical. He needs to realize he can star too.
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