Franz Jacob Wagner (born 27 August 2001) is a German professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. Wagner, a native of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, started his career with

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL) club

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena and c ...

. In 2019, he was named BBL Best German Young Player. Wagner has played for the German youth national teams, winning a gold medal at the 2018

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament (, abbreviated as AST), full name DBB Albert Schweitzer World Under-18 Tournament (), is an international basketball competition that is played between national teams of the Under-18 men's age category. It t ...

. His older brother Moritz Wagner, a former Michigan standout, also plays for the Orlando Magic.

Recruiting

Wagner was considered a four-star recruit by

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and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

. Among the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

programs that recruited him were

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. On July 6, 2019, Wagner committed to play

for Michigan under head coach

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard ( ; born February7, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach ...

. In doing so, he turned down an opportunity to sign a professional contract with Alba Berlin.

College career

On October 21, 2019, Wagner fractured his right wrist and was expected to miss four to six weeks. He made his season debut for the Wolverines on November 27, 2019, and finished the game with six points, three rebounds, and one block in 23 minutes in an 83–76 victory over Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. On December 6, Wagner posted a career-high 18 points in a 103–91 victory over

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in its Big Ten Conference season opener, as Michigan had six double-digit scorers, including all five starters. On March 1, 2020, Wagner posted 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

in a 63–77 loss to

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. Following the regular season, he was named to the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

All-Freshman team. During his sophomore season, Wagner posted 14 double-figure games and four 20+ point games, he averaged 13.0 points per game with 6.3 rebounds, a team-high 30 steals and a second-best 23 blocks. Following the season he was named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and third-team by the media. On May 4, 2021, he declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Alba Berlin (2017–2019)

In the 2018–19 season, Wagner played on a dual contract for both

in the

(BBL), the top German league, and SSV Lokomotive Bernau in the third-tier

ProB The ProB is the German basketball league system, third-tier level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 24 teams, separated into a Northern and a Southern Division. Officially, the ProB is part of ...

league. In May 2019, he won the BBL Best Young Player Award. In Game 2 of the BBL Finals against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, Wagner scored a team-high 14 points, making all six of his shots. By the end of the season, he was averaging 4.6 points in 12.4 minutes per game in the BBL and played limited minutes in the EuroCup.

Orlando Magic (2021–present)

Wagner was selected with the eighth pick in the

by the

. He and fellow lottery pick Jalen Suggs signed with the Magic on August 3. Wagner posted his first NBA double-double with a career-high 11 rebounds and 14 points as well as 6 assists on December 18 against the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. On December 27, 2021, Wagner put up a career-high 38 points in a 127–110 loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Wagner was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December. Wagner's second NBA double-double occurred on January 12, 2022, against the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

when he upped his career-high assist plateau from 6 to 10 and added 14 points. This marked the first time a Magic rookie forward had ever posted 10 or more assists in a game. Following the

2021–22 NBA season The 2021–22 NBA season was the 76th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 19, 2021, and ended on April 10, 2022. For the first time since the 2018–19 season, the NBA returned to its usual O ...

he was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

. On November 5, 2022, Wagner scored a season-high 31 points and recorded six assists in a 126–123 overtime loss to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. On December 29, he was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay due to coming off the bench during an altercation in a game against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

the day before. Wagner finished his sophomore season averaging 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. On April 27, 2024, Wagner recorded 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting, along with 13 rebounds to lift the Magic to a 112–89 victory in Game 4 as Orlando tied their First Round series with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

2–2. On July 6, 2024, the Magic signed Wagner to a contract extension. On November 18, 2024, Wagner earned his first NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award. On November 21, Wagner had a season-high 37 points, along with six rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and scored a game-winning three-pointer in a 119–118 victory against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. On December 6, Wagner put up 30 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block in a 102–94 loss to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. He achieved his third-consecutive 30-point game for the second time in his career, joining

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

and

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979), nicknamed T-Mac, is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-N ...

as the only players in Magic franchise history to score at least 30 points in at least three consecutive games multiple times. On December 7, 2024, it was announced that Wagner had suffered from a torn right

oblique Oblique may refer to: * an alternative name for the character usually called a slash (punctuation) ( / ) *Oblique angle, in geometry * Oblique triangle, in geometry * Oblique lattice, in geometry * Oblique leaf base, a characteristic shape of the ...

, an injury which teammate

Paolo Banchero Paolo Napoleon James Banchero ( ; ; born November 12, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketbal ...

suffered earlier in the season. Wagner returned on January 23, 2025, scoring 20 points in a 101–79 loss against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

National team career

Wagner played for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

, Montenegro. In five games, he averaged 7.4 points per game as his team finished in 13th place. In 2018, Wagner averaged six points per game and helped Germany win the gold medal at the

, an under-18 competition in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, Germany. In the

2019 FIBA U18 European Championship The 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 36th edition of the FIBA U18 European Championship. The competition took place in Volos, Greece, from 27 July to 4 August 2019. Participating teams * * * * * * ''(Automatically qualified as hos ...

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

, Greece, he averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, leading his team to 11th place. He missed one game with a back injury. In

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

, he averaged 16.1 points and 4 rebounds per game, beating Poland in his home city of Berlin to take home bronze for Germany. In 2023, Wagner became world champion, winning gold at the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

with the German national team. It was the first time that Germany won this event. In recognition of his individual play, Wagner was named to the All-FIBA World Cup Second Team. At the

2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, after going unbeaten in Group B and winning over Greece in the quarterfinals, Germany lost to France, 69–73, in the semifinals. In the bronze medal game, Germany lost to Serbia 83–93. Wagner averaged 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in 6 games played. For his play, he was named named to the tournament's All-Second Team.

Honours

* BBL Best Young Player Award: 2018–19 *

: * All-FIBA World Cup Second Team:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 79 , , 79 , , 30.7 , , .468 , , .354 , , .863 , , 4.5 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 32.6 , , .485 , , .361 , , .842 , , 4.1 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 18.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 72 , , 32.5 , , .482 , , .281 , , .850 , , 5.3 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 60 , , 33.7 , , .463 , , .295 , , .871 , , 5.7 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 24.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 291 , , 291 , , 32.3 , , .474 , , .322 , , .856 , , 4.8 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 19.1

Playoffs

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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, 7 , , 7 , , 37.0 , , .408 , , .265 , , .886 , , 6.9 , , 4.4 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

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, 5 , , 5 , , 39.0 , , .443 , , .189 , , .769 , , 4.8 , , 5.6 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 25.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 12 , , 37.8 , , .427 , , .225 , , .843 , , 6.0 , , 4.9 , , .9 , , .9 , , 21.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 27 , , 30.8 , , .452 , , .311 , , .833 , , 5.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , 31.7 , , .477 , , .343 , , .835 , , 6.5 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 12.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 55 , , 55 , , 31.2 , , .465 , , .325 , , .835 , , 6.1 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 12.0

Personal life

Wagner is the younger brother of

(NBA) player Moritz Wagner, his teammate on the Orlando Magic. Moritz played three seasons of college basketball for Michigan and was a first-round pick in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Franz 2001 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 21st-century German sportsmen Alba Berlin players Basketball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Berlin FIBA Basketball World Cup–winning players German expatriate basketball people in the United States German men's basketball players Germany men's national basketball team players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players NBA players from Germany Olympic basketball players for Germany Orlando Magic draft picks Orlando Magic players Shooting guards