Franz Wagner
Franz Jacob Wagner (born August 27, 2001) is a German professional basketball player who currently plays for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wagner played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines from 2019 to 2021. He was selected in the first round, as the eighth overall pick, by the Orlando Magic in the 2021 NBA Draft, where he plays as a forward. Before his NBA career, Wagner played for Alba Berlin in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) from 2017 to 2019. In the 2018-19 season, he won the BBL Best Young Player Award. Among his career highlights, Wagner was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2022. He also received the German Bundesliga Best Young Player award in 2019. In college, he was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team (Coaches) and All-Big Ten Third Team (Media) in 2021, as well as being a First Team Academic All-American in the same year and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2020. Internationally, Wagner has represented Germany. He played in the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship and later was part of the German team that won the gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he was named to the tournament’s Second Team. He also has a bronze medal from EuroBasket 2022. Franz is the younger brother of fellow NBA player Moritz Wagner, who is his teammate on the Orlando Magic.
