To mark the occasion, a sequence that Franz Wagner performed at the end of the first quarter of his Orlando Magic game with the Detroit Pistons: he pulled from the center line to the basket; past three opponents who, given Wagner’s speed and suppleness, looked like slalom poles. With a step to the side, he dodged a fourth opponent, but lost his balance and couldn’t place the ball in the basket. He grabbed his own rebound, spun around the guy he’d dodged before, dove under the hoop and backed the play device across the board into the net. “Hm,” said the commentator, as if unsure of what adjective to use, then said dryly, “I think that was unique.”
It was the first game of the new NBA season. Of course the teams want to show what they can do; but they also know that there are 81 more games to come. Orlando shouldn’t be sad about the 109:113 defeat for long, because the fourth youngest squad in the league works. The first choice of his year, Paolo Banchero, made a formidable professional debut (27 points and nine rebounds) – and this Franz Wagner (20 points, five rebounds), who is actually unique because he took the next step in a development in the summer has made, which they hope that after a few more steps there is a chance for the first title in the club’s history.
“Unique” is a word used when reference points or comparisons are missing. For athletes, it can be a huge compliment because it suggests that there isn’t one like that right now – and that this guy has the chance to make a difference in a sport. Dirk Nowitzki, for example, was unique because nobody his size could throw so sensitively and he perfected this rotation flamingo jump throw so much that it was almost impossible to defend and has since been imitated – including by Wagner a few times against Detroit.
What makes Wagner unique? Well, there are the obvious elements that were on display against Detroit: how lithe he moves at 2.08m tall. How much he runs without possession. How his half-distance throw, which he worked on in summer training, has improved. How attentive he works on the defensive and therefore could become a ball stealer of Scottie Pippen quality. How unselfishly he acts and gets along with his colleagues Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. in the pick-and-roll.
Wagner packed a few muscles in the summer
These are all things that show how good Wagner already is; however, the question as he begins his second NBA season is: how good can he get? Officially a winger, his mobility allows him to defend against playmakers (he did 40 percent of his time on the field last season) and his size and brawn (he’s put on a few pounds of muscle over the summer) against the diggers underneath the basket. The 21-year-old is one of basketball’s most versatile players right now, and he knows what he can do with that versatility.
“Basketball IQ” is another word people use when they don’t know exactly why someone is good. Anyone who experiences Wagner off the stage should recognize that only a small part is a gift from nature. He is someone who ponders, analyzes; someone who doesn’t just watch games for entertainment, but always wants to learn something from it. He’s basketball smart, sure, but he’s also basketball educated. But that also means that he is never satisfied. That he always wants to get better.
How good can he get? Well, interestingly, one of the weaknesses was in the sequence described. He avoids opponents, which is intuitively correct; you want to throw as unchallenged as possible. One of Nowitzki’s great strengths after a few tough NBA years was looking for contact – to be able to go to the free-throw line in any case. When the Mavericks won the championship in 2011, Nowitzki managed 45 of his 156 points from free throws; only one of which he rejected. Wagner free throws against Detroit: two, he hit both. More contact, even if it goes against your own intuition, that would be one of the next steps.
As I said: It was the first game of 82 and Orlando is not suspected of being able to win the title this year. The young squad should now take the next steps together, they are under no pressure at all. They want players to feel comfortable and stay as long-term as possible; Coach Jamahl Mosley, for example, only flew to Europe for Wagner because of Wagner, which he thought was “really cool”. They want to build something, and Wagner should be one of the cornerstones. If you want to win the title, you don’t need players who are good, but: unique.