3 Orlando Magic takeaways from the 2024 Paris Olympics
The Olympics ended on Saturday with the United States' thrilling victory over France. It was a momentous occasion with the U.S. winning a rare road game in the Olympics. It was the perfect cap for an exciting two weeks of competitive basketball.
Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner and Germany though are going home a bit disappointed. After steamrolling through their group play, they hit a roadblock in a rematch with France. And then they seemingly ran out of gas in a bronze medal game loss to Serbia.
Franz Wagner still had an impressive showing, averaging 18.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. He was named to FIBA's All-Olympics second team.
He played exceptionally well on the biggest international stage Wagner has been on in his career. Of course, the ghost of his Game 7 still followed him. There was increased scrutiny on him during the team's elimination losses against France and Bronze Medal Game against Serbia.
Wagner had very different games against those teams. And both were better showings than his frustrating showing in Cleveland.
Still, every time a player takes the court, it is data. Wagner showed a lot on the floor and still showed some things that have Magic fans wringing their hands—even if he is just 22 years old and about to enter a max contract.
The Olympics were a fun injection of high-level basketball in the middle of a long summer. It brought all the same NBA drama—on and off the court.
The Magic will always have players involved in these international tournaments—expect Paolo Banchero to get a look for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. And Wagner will be back in international competition for the 2025 EuroBasket tournament in Cyprus, Finland, Latvia and Poland.
But now the basketballs are being put away. The Wagners will get some time off before training camp begins Oct. 1. But there is a lot to consider with both players after their run at the Olympics as players turn their focus away from playing for their country to playing for their club teams.
The Magic learned a lot about their players and their team from the games in Paris. Here are three takeaways from the Olympics.