He’s an Elite Driver
Few players, if any, have better footwork and touch on drives than Franz Wagner. He’s like a 6-foot-10 version of Manu Ginobili when he puts the ball on the deck and attacks the basket. He made the league’s 10th most shots on drives during the 2022-23 season, just behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. One, two and three in this category were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and De’Aaron Fox.
He Earned the Nickname “Fourth Quarter Franz”
Wagner doesn’t back down when the pressure mounts. That was abundantly clear every time Orlando was in a tight game down the stretch during the 2022-23 season. He scored the league’s ninth-most points in the fourth quarter. Even more impressive was that his 40.5 percent 3-point shooting in the final frame was the best mark among players in the top 20 in fourth-quarter scoring. The Magic, as a team, scored the seventh-most fourth-quarter points.
He's Become a Very Good 3-Point Shooter
Before the Magic made him the eighth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, many questioned his perimeter shooting. In his two years at the University of Michigan, he shot just 32.5 percent from beyond the arc, so it was understandable why there was such ambiguity. But, with all the work he’s put in, he's now one of the Magic’s best outside shooters. Overall, he shot 36.1 percent from downtown during the 2022-23 season, but in catch-and-shoot situations, he shot 42.1 percent from 3-point range, the 17th best mark among players who took at least 200 of them, according to Second Spectrum tracking data.
He Has Great Chemistry With Both Paolo Banchero & Wendell Carter Jr.
One of the reasons why there’s so much optimism about this young Magic core is that they mesh well together. When Wagner, Banchero and Carter were on the floor together, specifically, the team shot 49.8 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point distance – both well above Orlando’s season percentages. Also, the Magic’s defensive rating was 111.0 when they were on the court at the same time, nearly three lower than the team’s season mark.
He’s Become One of NBA’s Iron Men
Over his first two NBA seasons combined, Wagner has missed just five games. But more significant is that this past season he didn’t miss a single game because of an injury, even after tweaking his ankle a couple times. He was one of several Magic players that had to sit out a game after leaving the bench during the scuffle that occurred in Detroit on Dec. 28. His other absence was right after the Magic were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.