By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Franz Wagner opened up on several topics concerning EuroBasket 2025 and returning to international action with Germany, including what makes Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic special.
“You always have to know where he’s at. You have to gameplan for him as a team. Obviously, he’s super athletic, super fast. Super strong, and usually the tallest guy on the floor. You can’t just expect one guy to defend him well,” he talked about the Freak.
“I think there are a few players in the world that are as versatile or can manipulate the game as well as he does offensively. Same thing, you can’t just guard him with one player. Have to kind of switch up the looks you give him and also be OK with him making some tough looks,” he continued with Doncic.
“I think what makes them special is that they’re most toughest to guard when they’re passing and getting their teammates involved. But at the same time, they can pretty much score one-on-one every time. That makes it really hard to gameplan for them,” he combined the Slovenian and Serbian superstars to complete a preview of potential EuroBasket matchups, “That’s why they’re some of the best players in the world.”
Besides the possibility of competing against leading NBA stars and respective scouting reports packed with plenty of previous experience against Giannis, Doncic, and Jokic, the 23-year-old winger of the Orlando Magic also talked about the pride of representing his country, the intensity of EuroBasket, and handling pressure in major international tournaments.
“I think it’s always an honor to be able to play for a national team. I know the way I look at it is that I want to be a part of making basketball here in Germany bigger. And I think national teams are the best tool we have as players to do that,” he mentioned on efforts in further growth of basketball in his country.
In Finland for the preliminary round, Germany faces Montenegro, Sweden, Lithuania, Great Britain, and the hosts, with the round-robin schedule tipping off on Wednesday. Ranking first through fourth would clinch a berth in the knockout stage, set to be played in Riga between September 6 and 14.
“I think every do-or-die game, and especially national team games, when you play for your country, and especially when the time you have with the team is kind of short or way shorter than during a season with a team. I think those games are always super physical and every player is putting it all out there,” Wagner praised the tournament format, “I think that’s what makes those games super fun to play and hopefully fun to watch as well.”
“It would be a massive achievement,” he replied to a question about looking to combine the FIBA World Cup 2023 championship with a EuroBasket title, with the same group of players, “I think winning anything is super difficult. I think winning something for your country, obviously, is super special. We felt that two years ago, and we’re doing everything we can to have that feeling again and bring home a gold medal for your country.”
Before gold in the previous installment of the World Cup and being named to the All-Star Second Team, Wagner earned a bronze medal in the EuroBasket 2022. Last summer, he was part of a run to fourth place in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and a member of the All-Star Second Team.