How the Wagner brothers are making magic in Orlando

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Devine and Jake Fischer explore the early-season success of the Orlando Magic, thanks in large part to brothers and roommates Moritz and Franz Wagner. Hear the full conversation on “No Cap Room” – part of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

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DAN DEVINE: One of the biggest surprises of the early season has come in Central Florida, the Orlando Magic 9 and 5. Jake Fischer, you were able recently to catch up with a couple of the big reasons why. Can you tell me about that?

JAKE FISCHER: They are big– 6 foot 9, 6 foot 11. The brothers from Berlin, Germany, who have gold medals hanging around their necks after a FIBA World Cup Championship alongside Dennis Schroder, bronze, and Mo Wagner. And, you know, I’ve been kind of bullish on the Magic since last season. They ended their season 29 and 28 after a truly dreadful 5 and 20 start.

You get that momentum from the FIBA World Cup going. Paolo Banchero continues to develop as a true superstar-type player to the point where, like, sometime down the road, Dan, where there’s going to be a debate of who’s better, Franz or Paolo, and should they trade one of them just like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in Boston, which that’ll be silly drama, but that will be the result of the success that Orlando is having largely because of their two super-sized winged ball handlers, Franz having a basketball IQ that Michigan assistant Phil Martelli described to me as a savant.

Magic coaches are always struck by what Franz is pointing out and seeing on video film clips before they even bring up the assignment and the criticism that they’re wanting to show him. And Mo Wagner, who I will admit, I did not think he’d be an NBA player when he was at Michigan– I thought he was more bark than bite.

But the guy is a beast in the interior. He sets crushing screens. He’s averaging career high in points. And they just have such a good dynamic of the fact that they live together. They are on the road together. They drive to work together. But they also are able to go to, like, separate areas of the house And read some books and think and unwind. So I’m in on the Magic. I’m in on the Wagners. Let’s keep this thing going down in Disney World.