Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner's All-Star chances tied to Orlando Magic's results

Franz Wagner's path to his first All-Star bid

Clearly, there are a finite number of spaces on these All-Star teams. And there are a lot of those spots accounted for assuming players are healthy and play the way they are expected to play and their teams finish where they are expected to finish.

That means it is almost essential for the Orlando Magic to finish better than anyone expected if Franz Wagner is going to be an All-Star this season. The Magic have to be so undeniably good that they are one of those special teams that gets two All-Stars.

That does not even get into the players who will be pushing for a spot, even from teams that are not at the top of the Eastern Conference. Trae Young, Darius Garland, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Pascal Siakam have all been All-Stars before and should be on teams competing for a postseason spot to varying degrees.

Mikal Bridges, Evan Mobley, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday will be pushing for another All-Star bid from the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

And that does not get into potential wild card selections from expected teams at the bottom of the standings like Scottie Barnes (favored argument nemesis for the Magic's young stars), Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, LaMelo Ball, second-year forward Brandon Miller, and Cade Cunningham.

There is a lot of talent throughout the conference.

They all may be longer shots to make the All-Star team with how many key players on winning teams there are. If the Magic are in the top six in the Eastern Conference, it feels impossible they will not get at least Paolo Banchero on the All-Star team.

But getting a second player like Franz Wagner? That is going to take Wagner improving his counting stats from the 19.7 points per game he averaged last year and the Magic being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Wagner can easily put himself in consideration with a season that sees improved counting stats and the continued advanced numbers that have everyone drooling over his impact. Some better 3-point shooting would help too.

But ultimately, and it is the same with Banchero too, the path to the All-Star Game is paved with the team's success. If the Magic want the individual accolades that come throughout the season or after the season, it starts with the team finding success on the court.

There will be a lot of competition for the spots on the Eastern Conference All-Star team regardless. The league is as talented as it has ever been and the Eastern Conference is getting deeper. There are some very good teams the Magic are trying to beat in the standings just as much as their individual players are trying to make their mark.

Banchero feels like a certain bet to make the All-Star team assuming the Magic are competing for a Playoff spot. Wagner has work to do to get there. And a lot of that work will come from the team taking its own step up.