All summer, all any Orlando Magic fan has wanted to know is where Franz Wagner is in developing his shot.
Franz Wagner had a breakout season for the Magic, carrying the team through November when Paolo Banchero was out with an injury, averaging 24.2 points per game in the regular season and 25.8 points per game in the Playoffs.
But his 3-point shooting numbers continued to stick out. He shot 29.5 percent from three last season, his second straight season shooting worse than 30 percent from three, and 7 for 37 (18.9 percent) in the Playoff series with the Boston Celtics.
All anybody wants to see is Wagner taking shots and improving his jumper. It was even a reason some fans thought Wagner should skip Eurobasket. It was perhaps why the Magic were a bit secretive when Wagner spent some time in Orlando earlier this month -- posting stills of his workout on social media.
Whether he is ready or not, Eurobasket will be his chance to put all of his work on display. And the team has opened its training camp in Malaga, Spain, in preparation for the tournament at the end of August and their first friendly against Slovenia on Aug. 8 (next Friday!).
Wagner has spent the last three months putting his work in. And that certainly includes his shooting.
Video will have to wait for now. But Wagner spoke at the national team's media day before heading to Spain about his offseason. And while his shot is first and foremost, Wagner revealed he is working on something else to add to his game.
"I've been working a lot on my shot," Wagner said (translated with Google Translate). "A bit more post-up. Small, fast players tend to give me trouble, so it's probably good to work on that. More rhythm in my shot. I have coaches in Berlin with whom I've trained a lot."
Shooting is at the forefront of Wagner's work this offseason. Everyone will be focused on that aspect of his game as he takes the court for Eurobasket.
But that other part, that is an intriguing addition to his repertoire that could help him take another big scoring leap.
Franz in the post
The biggest advantage for the Orlando Magic is their size and ball-handling. The Magic attack teams and create mismatches because they have two jumbo-sized forwards who can handle the ball.
A good chunk of Orlando's sets are trying to hunt mismatches to get Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero the kind of matchups they want to attack off the dribble.
Wagner is right to identify a potential weakness of going up against smaller players and finding ways to attack them better.
The post-game is different than what it was in its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. But it still exists. And players who know how to attack the paint in the post still matter.
According to NBA.com's tracking stats, Wagner was second on the team with 1.6 post-up possessions per game. He scored 1.06 points per possession on those post-ups, shooting 47.9 percent.
That was certainly a lot better than Banchero's 0.86 points per possessions on 2.2 possessions per game. This is an area where the Magic and their two star players could certainly improve.
Franz Wagner trailed only Goga Bitadze (1.60 points per possession) and Moe Wagner (1.07 points per possession) in terms of efficiency on the team last season. This is an area where Franz Wagner is already fairly strong, but could become a lot better.
What he is looking to add is another way to neutralize a speed advantage when teams try to go smaller and quicker on him to bother him. This is really about gaining confidence in his footwork and his jumper in the end.
Wagner has slowly added more dimensions to his game.
As he took on more responsibility last season, he started taking more mid-range jumpers, finishing at 41.1 percent on 107 mid-range field goal attempts last year, according to NBA.com's tracking stats.
That he added a mid-range game at all was surprising. He shot 16 for 47 in the 2024 season and 33 for 76 in the 2023 season. It was simply not a part of his game.
Clearly this is an area Wagner is looking to improve. Whether it is working the post for better mid-range shots or finding a way to get to the basket even with smaller and quicker defenders on him. Wagner is devising a new way to attack.
He has clearly been able to add to his game in that way.
All eyes are still on his shooting
All of those improvements are still vital. But the key to unlocking Franz Wagner as a potential All-Star and elite-level player in this league is getting some consistency from three.
The journey for Wagner's three-point shot during the 2025 season was a frustrating one. He seemed to take strides early in the season, shooting 32.1 percent on 6.4 3-point attempts per game.
That is not a world-beating number but the volume was encouraging and he was making enough of those shots to be consistent. More importantly, he was confident taking those threes.
Returning from his oblique injury saw him revert to the numbers that were so puzzling and struggling about his 2024 season. He shot 27.5 percent on 5.5 3-point attempts per game.
More noticeably, he seemed to develop some hitch in his shot. It was not clear if he was working to change his shooting form or dealing with a bout of confidence when it came to his shot.
Regardless of what it is, the Magic must get to the bottom of it and see Wagner confident from deep and delivering for the Magic.
It is why all eyes are on him for Eurobasket. He will play a role similar to the one he plays for the Magic for his national team on a team that is among the favorites to win the tournament. There will be no hiding the progress, or lack thereof, that he has made.
His team is depending on him this summer.
Wagner clearly has a lot he wanted to work on this offseason. He will get to put it all into practice beginning next week.