Similar to his rookie season, Franz Wagner wasted no time to make an affect in Central Florida.
Less than 24 hours after returning to Orlando from Germany, there Wagner was Thursday night serving to NBA Top Shot and the Orlando Magic unveil renovated basketball courts at Candyland Park in Longwood.
The second brought about reflection whereas going by means of drills with children on the brand new courts after being in his residence nation for a big chunk of the offseason.
“It’s just cool for me,” mentioned Wagner, who used the early elements of this week to be along with his household in Germany earlier than returning to Orlando. “It’s a big part of everybody’s dream to try stuff out on courts outside. It’s kind of like Candyland. We didn’t have anything like this back home in Germany. The kids will have a lot of fun.”
Wagner’s spent the final two months with the German males’s nationwide basketball staff, enjoying in friendlies, 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and EuroBasket 2022 — a match by which Germany received the bronze medal after defeating Poland on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.
It was Wagner’s first time enjoying on the senior nationwide staff after enjoying for Germany’s youth groups.
He was a standout for Germany throughout EuroBasket, with averages of 15.2 factors (53.1% capturing — 58.2% from the sphere and 46.3% on 3s), 4 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
Germany received 4 of its 5 group-phase video games to qualify for the 16-team single-elimination knockout stage, the place it misplaced to Spain within the semifinals earlier than beating Poland for third place.
“It’ll just help me grow a little bit,” Wagner mentioned. “We played a lot of tight games. A lot of important games and games where every possession matters. That mindset should help me this next year and hopefully, I can help the team with that. In general, just having one more year under my belt is going to make some stuff easier.”
Wagner, the No. 8 decide in final yr’s draft, is coming off an elite rookie season that he’s seeking to construct on.
He averaged 15.2 factors, 4.5 rebounds and a pair of.9 assists in 30.7 minutes (79 begins in 79 appearances), completed fourth in the voting for Rookie of the Year that was awarded to Toronto Raptors ahead Scottie Barnes and was named to the All-Rookie first staff.
Wagner’s gotten noticeably stronger and it was evident he labored on his exterior capturing throughout the offseason — factors of emphasis for him getting into the summer season.
“It’s important to kind of pick one or two things for the offseason,” he mentioned. “Before the offseason for me, it was getting my physique stronger, a bit bit extra developed, and dealing on my shot. It’s additionally vital to make use of what you’re employed on within the exercises and [use] it in sport conditions.
“I want to continue to improve as a player. Playmaking, shooting — honestly, whatever the team needs. I just to be an impactful player on the team. Whatever that means.”
The Magic begin coaching camp Tuesday at their new state-of-the-art IntroductionHealth Training Center.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or comply with him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com