Georges Niang tells hilarious story about Franz Wagner’s infamous Game 4 moment

It was one of the tell-tale moments of the Orlando Magic's playoff series with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Early in Game 4, with the Magic desperately needing a win to tie the series and send things back to Cleveland for a best-of-3 the rest of the way, they needed a spark of confidence. They needed something to go their way and ignite a still-nervous Kia Center crowd.

There were a lot of moments in Game 4 where it clicked that the Magic belonged on this stage. They were not a young team simply happy to be there.

The defining image of the series was likely from that same Game 4 when Darius Garland got up after a foul and into Jalen Suggs' chest only for Suggs to look down on him smiling. The Magic seemed to have the Cavaliers rattled.

But a big moment came early in that game too.

The usually quiet Franz Wagner usually lets out exclamations after big plays. It is easy to see what a fiery competitor he is throughout the game. But it is rarely directed at others.

That is why it was seemingly energizing when late in the first quarter he spun past Georges Niang, dropping the reserve forward to the court, hit a floater and then pointed down at the wing. Wagner scored a series-high 34 points that afternoon at Kia Center and the Magic tied the series.

But there is a lot more to that story.

Moritz Wagner is friends with Georges Niang and Franz Wagner played some pre-Draft pickup runs with Niang. Niang knew what was coming, joking that he saw Wagner dribbling around those games with his strength and joked he would end up on the Orlando Magic, as an insult to him since the Magic were not good at that time.

The joke ended up on him with Wagner making this play. But Niang said in an interview with the Wagners on his podcast, The Bench Seat (the podcast is not safe work), that Franz had the look in his eye of someone about to do something nasty.

"When he got to do summer workouts before. . . we were working out together. He was so strong. I thought I was strong. He would drive the ball and strong and keep his dribble and still dribble. There was a point where I was coming off a season and I'm coming to work out and I don't want to guard this dude who keeps dribbling. I was having to guard a lot of stuff and I was like, 'You do all that dribbling and the only team that's going to take you is the Orlando Magic.' That's when the Magic were going through their low period. And then they draft him and now I have to watch him drive into me and bust my [butt]."

Moe Wagner then immediately noted that his brother dropped Georges Niang in that playoff game. Niang, like Moe Wagner, talks trash to try to throw guys off their game. Franz Wagner though was seemingly unflappable in that series.

Niang jokingly said that he and Moe Wagner are talkers during the game and that is part of their schtick that everyone on the court realizes. The kinds of things Franz Wagner is worried about during a game are very different. There was no getting under his skin.

That has been proven through everything Franz has gone through in his offseason—coming off the rough Game 7 and heading into the Olympics where he had a strong showing that included France putting all of its defensive resources into stopping him.

That has been something special about Franz Wagner. His competitiveness is evident in everything he does. But it is hard to break him. And he is like his brother. He has some trollish aspects to him. That moment in Game 4 was one of the few times it came out.

As the months have passed since that playoff series ended, there is plenty of respect between the two teams and throughout the league for what the Magic did. Niang gave tons of compliments to the Kia Center crowd and said he could tell the city was waiting for a team like this to give them a home environment like that.

The Wagners confirmed what a lot of players have said, they could feel the fan support shifting as they built more wins. They remember the down times and appreciate how everything has changed for the Magic and their fan base.

Moe Wagner repeated on the podcast another line that has been said by many Magic players. The lesson from the playoffs was how important homecourt was. Wagner believes the Magic would have won the series if Game 7 was on their home floor. The Magic needed that experience and that lesson.

This is just the beginning for Franz Wagner and the Magic

Wagner said it best on the podcast: In training camp, you are not preparing for the season anymore, you are preparing for May and the playoffs.

But it still all starts with the players. And that was no guarantee.

Franz Wagner related on the podcast how difficult a decision it was for him to decide to go to Michigan, but that he knew it was the best chance to get acclimated to the American style of game and ease his eventual transition to the league.

As Niang correctly predicted, the Magic ended up being the perfect spot for him.

"I felt like I could play better than I did in college," Franz Wagner said. "From that point on, everything went perfectly for me. I got drafted to the right team and the right situation. Coming into the NBA, I didn't expect to start, play pick and roll, I expected to play a lot because I was a rookie on a not great team. They gave me so much opportunity and chances to try stuff. It gave me so much confidence."

It has been quite a journey for Wagner and it seems like there is a lot more to come. His confidence is still growing. And even his experience at the Olympics leading Germany into the bronze medal game despite the disappointing result will only add to that confidence.

Everyone seems hungry to get back to that moment once again.

Perhaps Franz Wagner will point the way again.