Franz Wagner’s Star Turn Is Giving Off ‘93-94 Pippen Vibes

Getty Images/Ringer illustration The Orlando Magic's all-world sidekick is proving he's pretty incredible as a leading man, too. Has it been there all along? You'd think after experiencing live and firsthand the past six seasons of LeBron James—an altruistic basketball savant who periodically transforms into the broadest of hammers to get the job done—that the Lakers announcers would have known exactly what to make of Franz Wagner on Thursday night. Yet, in the midst of a career game, as Wagner did everything to keep his Orlando Magic within striking distance on the road, play-by-play announcer BIll Macdonald and longtime Lakers analyst Stu Lantz could only scoff at how much he was dribbling—how the offense seemed all about him, how that couldn't work long-term. Never mind that each of Wagner's slithering drives led to paint touches worth their weight in gold, or how lethal he'd been on pull-up jumpers. Never mind the fact that Wagner is playing the best stretch of basketball in his life in the absence of Magic star Paolo Banchero, managing to be one of the most impactful two-way players in the entire league for a Magic squad that has won seven of its past eight games....