You could not write a script better than the ending of the Orlando Magic's game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. You could not even fathom this being the script. Not on this stage, at this arena or against this team.
That is LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, and Anthony Davis, an NBA champion and a regular All-NBA candidate. They were on the other side and looking unstoppable. An injury-depleted Magic could not possibly compete, not without an established star.
If this were a movie, there needed to be some confluence of forces so that a new hero could rise. They would need a superhuman effort.
But the Lakers kept the door open. They missed four free throws in the final 40 seconds. It seemed like destiny for a new hero to rise.
The Magic's young star needed a chance to make his mark.
With the Magic trailing by two on the Magic's final possession, Franz Wagner took that opportunity. He got the ball at the top of the key with Anthony Davis on him and worked for a switch onto Cam Reddish. He then rocked Reddish with his dribble, looking for an opening to the basket.
It never came. And so Wagner stepped back and fired from three.
FRANZ CALLS GAME@franzboogie https://t.co/KIkC3lwYLt pic.twitter.com/0yat4TOPa1
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 22, 2024
He got his Hollywood ending draining the shot with two seconds left and silencing the home crowd. After Anthony Davis missed a tough fadeaway over Jonathan Isaac at the buzzer, the Magic had their hero. They had stolen a 119-118 victory on the road to close a three-game road trip.
And on a night where the Lakers' two all-time great All-Stars shined bright, it was Wagner who shined the brightest.
Franz Wagner wins the game
It was truly a star-making performance in the city of stars for Wagner on one of the NBA's biggest stages.
Wagner finished the game with 37 points and a career-high 11 assists. He made 13 of his 26 shots and 4 of 10 3-pointers. He added six rebounds and four steals for good measure.
More than that, with the Magic trailing and trying to fight their way back into the game, Wagner took over the fourth quarter. He scored 15 of the Magic's 30 points in the fourth quarter, making five of nine shots and three of five 3-pointers.
When he checked back in with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter and the Magic trailing 102-98, he scored 13 of the team's final 21 points. Wagner was the one initiating every action and trying to get downhill. He was the one taking the big shots.
Like the brave shot he took to win the game and send the Magic home with a 2-1 West Coast road trip. Wagner said this was probably the biggest shot he has taken so far.
"It was big time," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Thursday's game. "They missed the free throw to make it a two-point game, he comes down and doesn't have to rush it and lines it up. We work on those spacing situations and those shots. He works on those shots. He's not afraid of big moments. That's what we asked him to do. I could not be happier for this team but for him who puts in such an amazing amount of work. To see that fall. This group, they battled this entire game."
Franz adds to his star catalog
Franz Wagner has done plenty of incredible things already this season. The Magic have needed him to step up his game with Paolo Banchero out of the lineup. They have asked him to take on a more meaningful leadership role.
He has had to put the team on his back several times already. The Magic have needed him to drive the team forward.
Coach Jamahl Mosley said the Magic have had to get Franz Wagner to do things that are uncomfortable for him. The star has to take tough shots sometimes, take mid-range shots and deal with the double teams and pressure from the defenses. The Magic still have to find a way.
Wagner is someone who wants to make the right play and move the ball. He does not always want to take the most shots. But the Magic need him to do more right now. They need him to take over for the first time.
It makes it more incredible to sit back and think about all that he has done to this point. They have unlocked a new element and level to his game.
In Thursday's game, Wagner's performance made him the youngest player in Magic history with a 35-point, 10-assist game. He is just the third Magic player in history to do that—joining Anfernee Hardaway and Tracy McGrady. He is the youngest forward with that stat line since James did it in 2007.
This is quite a leap we are witnessing.
Since Banchero's injury, Wagner is averaging 25.4 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 6.3 assists per game. The Magic are 7-5 since Banchero's injury, doing more than stay afloat.
None of this works without Wagner taking this major step up.
"Obviously the situation is a special one for everyone on the team with guys being out," Wagner said after Thursday's game. "Obviously I try to do my best to step into that new role and take on the challenge. I think I have come a long way since I came into the league. Last year was at times a struggle for me. Progress is never linear. It is going to continue to go up and down. It's just a matter of staying level-headed throughout it."
Wagner shines in the spotlight
Undoubtedly, playing the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis brings with it an extra spotlight. Even though the NBA does not have any national TV games during the NFL's Thursday Night Football slate, the whole sports world was watching this lone late NBA game on the slate after the football game in Cleveland ended.
Franz Wagner performed on a big stage. And he outperformed the two established stars.
James and Davis were not pushovers in this game.
Davis dominated the interior with 39 points and nine rebounds. James was just as dominant with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Both took over in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers the lead back with James erasing the deficit seemingly on his own with a 10-0 run that featured back-to-back-back 3-pointers for James.
On one late-game possession, Jalen Suggs missed a 3-pointer and LeBron James got the rebound and fired a quarterback Hail Mary pass to Anthony Davis over Suggs for a dunk that made it a three-point game. It felt like the kind of superstar play that is too backbreaking to come back from.
The Magic though do not have much quit in them. They stayed in the game even when things looked bleak. Wagner kept attacking and getting to the basket. Wagner led the way and ensured the Magic had that chance.
"They are going to do that every night," Wagner said after Thursday's win. "I thought our group showed a lot of character, a lot of growth. Obviously, that game could have gone a couple of different ways too. But the way we fought for 48 even with them making some really good plays, I thought we made some really good plays too."
The Lakers left the door open with their missed free throws. But the Magic were the ones to walk right through it. They were the ones who had to make the most of that opportunity. Wagner was the one that had to push them through to get this win.
There is obviously more to a game than its final moments. Games never come down to the final shot.
But that is not fun for narratives. That is not fun for storytelling. We crave the drama and neatness of one tiny moment. This was literally like a movie.
"He got to the point where I didn’t want to cut and mess up his spacing, so I just stared at him and said, ‘You got to hit it,’" Jalen Suggs said after Thursday's game. "He got to his bag, hit a stepback, shot the rainbow, then it went in. Yeah, he’s special. That was like a movie moment."
When Wagner makes the All-Star team this year, this will be the highlight they play over and over again.
All anyone should be talking about is how Wagner upstaged the Lakers' established stars. This was Wagner's moment.