Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic has really stepped his game up since Paolo Banchero went down with a torn oblique. In Thursday night’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Wagner connected on a three-pointer with three seconds left. It gave Orlando a one-point lead which they held on to.
While Franz has been the headliner for the Magic of late, his brother has also been mighty productive on the season. Mo Wagner, also on Orlando, has started just one of his 17 appearances thus far in 2024-25. Mo certainly has made an early claim to be one of the candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year through the first month of the season.
While Franz Wagner Is Balling, Don’t Sleep On His Older Brother
Mo Wagner Also Has Helped Orlando Stay Afloat Sans Paolo
Mo is the elder brother of the two, as he is about 4.5 years older than Franz. The older Wagner is now in his seventh NBA season and his fourth full one with the Magic.
It can be argued that this is Mo’s best season thus far in his NBA career. While he did have a double-digit scoring average each of the previous two seasons, his 12.6 points per game so far this year would be a career-best. He is putting up that scoring average despite playing just 18.2 minutes per contest. His per 36 minute averages include 25.0 points and 8.6 rebounds.
Mo had a strong performance Thursday against the Lakers. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists. That was the 12th time in his 17 outings that Mo has scored in double figures, and also the eighth time in the last nine games.
One Of The Most Productive Bench Players
In his 16 games coming off the bench, Wagner has scored a total of 201 points. That is the fourth-most in the league through games played on November 21, only behind Payton Pritchard, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid, and Buddy Hield.
Despite Mo providing a huge spark off the bench for a team that has been winning of late without their star player, his current odds make him a huge dark horse candidate to win Sixth Man of the Year. DraftKings Sportsbook has him at +10,000 to win the honors. There are incredibly 33 players that have better odds than the 6-foot-11 center.
A free agent in the offseason, Mo re-signed with the Magic on a two-year deal worth $22 million. His brother Franz agreed to a five-year, $224 million max rookie scale extension this past offseason. Franz has shown his immense value especially since Banchero went down. In the 12 games without Banchero, Franz has posted averages of 25.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.8 steals. After losing their first four games without Banchero, Orlando has now won seven of their last eight.
That doesn’t mean his older, less-heralded brother should be slept on though. The Magic are 10-7, good for fourth-place in the Eastern Conference and just percentage points behind the New York Knicks for third. The Magic next play Saturday night at home against the Detroit Pistons.
