Magic's Franz Wagner is Already a Two-Way Star

The Orlando Magic's trip to Houston on Monday night was one they'd rather not remember.

Regardless of the result, however, it will be earmarked as a night of significance in the career of Franz Wagner.

The fourth-year forward became just the seventh player in league history 23 years old-or-younger to tally at least 5,000 points, 1,300 rebounds and 1,000 assists during their first four NBA seasons.

Wagner, who the Magic selected No. 8 overall in the 2021 NBA draft, needed just 277 career games to meet those marks. By doing so, he joined LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Nikola Jokic as the only players to accomplish the feat.

James and Doncic are the only players in league history to do so in under three seasons.

It's another feather in the cap of Wagner's best season to date, which is seeing the 6-10, 225-pound forward average career-highs of 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game.

One could go on about how beneficial his offensive game is to the Magic – how advanced numbers laud him as one of the NBA's most impactful offensive players despite playing for one of the NBA's least-efficient offensive teams.

To name a few, with Wagner on the floor, the Magic's offense is:

• 8.1 points better per 100 possessions;
• turns the ball over on 2.5 percent less of possessions;
• has a +3.0 eFG%; and is
• more accurate on shots at the rim (+3.3%), in midrange (+3.2%) and from three (+1.1%).

His usage rate (30.9), along with fellow teammate and star Paolo Banchero (32.1), profiles as one of the highest in the league. That's immense reliance on the duo to do nearly all of the heavy lifting for Orlando's offense.

Perhaps then it's even more impressive how effective a defender Wagner is given the offensive pressure he faces every night.

Wagner's athleticism, mobility and size paint him as one of the most versatile defenders in the league. He's not physically disadvantaged when taking on other scoring forwards and can keep up with the most prolific guards in the NBA.

Thus, he equally welcomes the challenges from a Damian Lillard or Trae Young as he does a Pascal Siakam or Paul George. After all, it was Wagner's defense on Lillard's game-winning attempt that snapped a five-game losing skid Saturday night in Milwaukee.

"I thought he was incredible," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said that evening. "I think the way in which he takes on that challenge, guarding some of the team's best players and not backing down, and then being asked to do the task on the offensive end as well. You can't say enough about what he does."

Numbers further justify Mosley's point. Of Wagner's defensive on-court minutes this year, he's spending 47.2 percent of them matched up against guards and 46.5 percent versus forwards.

He's second in per-game defensive win shares (0.164) to OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.171), who's locked in a two-man race with Jokic for league MVP this season. Defensive win shares, or DWS, estimate the number of wins a player produces during defensive possessions.

Wagner's +2.0 defensive estimated plus-minus ranks in the 97th percentile of all NBA players, and his +4.5 overall EPM is 10th-best in the league this season. (Dunks and Threes)

Remember – this season also included a 20-game absence because of a core muscle tear in his right abdominal.

The timing of his absence likely cost him a first-time All-Star selection this year. And, because he won't finish with enough total games played, he won't be up for end-of-year awards. Without the freak injury, he'd have had a case for any number of honors: an All-Defensive nod, Most Improved Player award or even one of the 15 spots on the three All-NBA teams.

While that won't come to fruition this season, Orlando will continue to reap the benefits of having one of the NBA's most impactful two-way players as one of its franchise cornerstones.