Franz Wagner shut out an old criticism with clutch EuroBasket performance

The margin for error in close elimination games is always incredibly small. The pressure is ramped up on the best players to perform and make the big plays and the big shots to lift their teams to victory.

Often it comes down to one play or another. It comes down to not getting phased by mistakes or missed opportunities.

It is always about the next play. And even on a day you do not have it, it is about finding a way to contribute and keep the engine going.

That is what stars have to do. They have to find a way to carry their teams and positively impact the game.

In many ways, Wednesday's EuroBasket quarterfinal against Slovenia had a lot of the same feel for Franz Wagner as previous frustrating games.

He was struggling to find much of a rhythm and get to the basket for clean looks. Slovenia made a clear decision to foul and be physical, not letting Germany suck the defense into the paint.

Wagner pushed through. He never put his head down or got frustrated. He found a way to impact the game despite a poor shooting effort.

And, in the end, he delivered one of the biggest shots in the tournament, getting a kickout to the 3-point line and jab stepping the defense away into a drive to the elbow for a jumper and a five-point lead that Germany would never give up.

Wagner's final stat line is ugly, to say the least. He scored 23 points on 5-for-17 shooting and 0 for 3 from three. But what he did was provide a constant drumbeat to the foul line, making 13 of 14 from the line.

Wagner has a high standard for himself. In many ways he did not meet it. But he delivered for his team when it mattered most. He found a way to contribute even with his shot struggling to go down consistently.

He did what stars do. They find a way to impact the game. And that is how Wagner can put that old criticism to bed.

Overcoming past demons

Franz Wagner has experienced heartbreak in big games before.

He spent all of last summer trying to answer the lingering question of his 1-for-15 showing in Game 7 of the Orlando Magic's 2024 playoff series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He struggled too in Germany's Olympic semifinal loss to France.

Wagner, as a burgeoning young star, needed to show he could play in these pressure-packed games and eventually lead his team. He put many of these doubts to bed during his playoff series with the Boston Celtics last year -- averaging 25.8 points per game, including two huge shots late in Game 3.

But the Magic were not expected to win that series. Really, very little was seemingly on the line. That series became a statement of the supporting cast around him. It was not about his ability as a star.

Stardom comes in a lot of forms. Everyone can be a star when they are scoring 30 points in big spots. Wagner did that in the Playoffs against the Celtics.

The challenge was how Wagner would perform if he struggled to shoot like he did in that Game 7. Would he become reticent and duck his head? Would he defer to others?

With a frustrating shooting game like this, Germany certainly needed others to step up. Dennis Schroder had 20 points and Daniel Theis added 15 points and nine rebounds. Tristan da Silva came up huge with a buzzer-beating three from halfcourt to end the third quarter and added a layup to open the fourth.

Germany took the lead for the first time since the first quarter on a one-legged leaning three from Andreas Obst. And Maodo Lo came up big in the fourth quarter.

But everything always returned to Wagner. It would be him and Schroder that would need to separate Germany in a close game. That is what Wagner was able to do. He did not disappear in this game like he might have in games past.

His poor shooting did not make him blink.

A constant impact

What stars do is provide a consistent drumbeat. They have the ball so much, they find ways to impact games even when things are ugly. They must find ways to impact games especially when things are ugly.

And that has been the question for Franz Wagner in his pursuit of stardom. Everyone knows him when things are going well and he is getting to the basket. But with his suspect jumper, what happens when there is a roadblock in front of him?

Slovenia was clearly determined to keep Wagner from getting downhill with his dribble. They were going to push and prod him.

Wagner used that to get to the line consistently. He may not have been hitting shots, but for every shot he took, he got a trip to the foul line in return. It may not have made up for the lack of efficiency -- and making some shots would have made the game easier -- but Wagner's fingerprints remained all over the game. He did not let a bad shooting game dissipate his impact or his energy.

That was seen as much on defense. He got a lot of the call in the second half on Luka Doncic with Isaac Bonga in foul trouble.

Doncic scored 39 points and 17 in the second half. But Wagner made him work when they were matched up. His size and strength kept Doncic from getting to the basket too much and Wagner used his fouls well in their matchup.

A lot was on Wagner's plate. And in the end, Germany was the one that came out on top.

That is the thing with big games like this. The narrative is completely different if Germany loses. Then we are talking about how Wagner missed another opportunity to show he was a star in the making, shriveling and struggling under the spotlight.

The smallest margins change everything.

But Wagner delivered in the big moment. That late fourth quarter jumper was the decisive play in the game, putting Slovenia just enough out of reach for Germany to hang on. And that was all on Wagner's shoulders.

During the last year, Wagner has always stepped up to the plate. He has found a way to impact games. He has become a true star.