Magic's Franz Wagner Stars As Germany Wins FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Opener

Germany blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Montenegro by 21 points to take command.

“We expected a tough game because the first game of any tournament is always tough,” said Germany’s acting head coach Alan Ibrahimagic with their regular head coach Álex Mumbrú not on the bench due to an illness.

“It’s a good Montenegrin game. I said before, I expect them to get even better as the tournament progresses…We focused on us. We actually played pretty good offense in the first half, got some good shots but didn’t make them. But defensively was room to improve and that’s what we did in the second half. Then we kind of played our pace and got a deserving win.”

Joining Wagner in Germany’s lineup was his Magic teammate, Munich native Tristan da Silva. The 6-foot-8 forward had a quiet night, finishing with four points on 2-for-6 shooting in the win. Franz’s brother and Magic teammate, Moe Wagner, is also typically part of Germany’s rotation but he remains sidelined while recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December.

Newly acquired Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder finished with 21 points and four assists for Germany. Former Magic All-Star and current Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic led Montenegro with 23 points.

Germany's next opponent in Group B pool play is Sweden. The Germans won bronze in FIBA EuroBasket 2022, gold in 2023 at the FIBA World Cup, and came in fourth in last year's Summer Olympics.

ESPN Predicts Orlando Magic To Shake Up Eastern Conference

The Orlando Magic have drawn praise throughout the summer because of an impressive showing in free agency. They added Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones to pair along with Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, making them a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.

That prompted ESPN to place the Magic among the teams expected to make the biggest leaps this season. The numbers were based on combined votes by the network's NBA writers. The Magic checked in at No. 3 behind the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks, who tied for first, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Here's what ESPN's Michael C. Wright wrote: "The young and hungry Orlando Magic lurk here as well, as they look to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10."

The Magic are coming off a first-round exit to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. This is most highly-anticipated season in franchise history since the Dwight Howard era.

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