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Franz Beats France: Magic Brothers Franz, Moe Wagner Help Propel Germany to Olympic Group B Crown

Orlando Magic wing Franz Wagner led all scorers as he and his brother, Moe Wagner, helped down France in the finale of Olympic Group B play, 85-71. The win secured the top spot in Group B for Germany.

Mason Williams

Franz Wagner dunks over multiple French defenders in Friday's Olympic Group B finale at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in France.
Franz Wagner dunks over multiple French defenders in Friday's Olympic Group B finale at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in France. / FIBA
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Germany basketball, spearheaded by Orlando Magic wing Franz Wagner's fantastic game, dominated France en route to the top spot of Group B in Olympic play Friday afternoon.

Having already secured promotion into the knockout round of the tournament, they'll now await their opponent based upon remaining seeds still to be determined.

Franz scored a game-high 26 points on 8-15 shooting (2-5 from three), added five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. He also toted a game-high +15 plus-minus at the sound of the final buzzer.

Moe fouled out after 14 minutes of game action, but added eight points and a rebound in the win.

For a full box score of the game, click here.

Here's a rundown of the key moments that saw Germany through to victory:

Franz blitzes France early, sustains it through entire performance

Fresh off signing a brand-new 5-year/$224 million extension with the Magic this summer, the soon-to-be fourth-year wing wasted little time in making an impact in Friday's Group B finale.

Wagner started the game with nine points in six minutes, featuring a deep triple and two dunks – one being a coast-to-coast fastbreak that ended with Franz jamming one home left-handed around the outstretched arm of France's Victor Wembanyama. In quieting a raucous home French crowd that was understandably vocal in its support of the Olympics' host nation, it was Wagner with the loudest response.

The hot start for Wagner carried over into the second quarter after a brief stint on the bench, where the former 8th-overall 2021 NBA Draft selection poured in another seven points to finish the first half with a game-high 16 points (6-9 shooting, 2-2 from three) at the break.

His +21 plus-minus was far and away the best mark of anyone on the floor after 20 minutes.

The second half brought more of the same for Wagner, who undoubtedly turned in his most complete performance so far in these Olympics. It also brought about what may be the dunk of the Olympics thus far – Franz driving through the middle of the halfcourt to elevate and finish over a slew of white French jerseys.

In all, the case for Franz as the best player on the floor in Friday afternoon's victory is strong – a key catalyst to the comfortable victory in the end for Germany.

Moe gets in on the action

The older brother of Franz made sure it wasn't just his Magic and German teammate that had all the fun in the first half romping of France. Playing seven minutes off the bench, Moe had a solid showing of his own – six points (4-4 from the FT line) and four rebounds in the first half – that included a ferocious throw down at the rim off the feed from Franz's only assist of the first 20 minutes.

His role defensively was pivotal in the Germans' frontcourt rotation. In combination with Franz's defensive efforts, the French were often stifled in their attempts to make headway toward overcoming the score deficit.

Germany forward Moritz Wagner drives to the basket against Brazil in men’s basketball Group B play.
Germany forward Moritz Wagner drives to the basket against Brazil in men’s basketball group B play during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Dennis Schroder sees no resistance in captaining the German offense

It would be remiss to not mention how the Magic's Wagner brothers, in part, saw so much success Friday afternoon due to the elite level of play from Dennis Schroder.

The German flag bearer had his way around Pierre Mauroy Stadium versus Les Blues, also scoring 26 points, adding four rebounds and dishing out 9 assists in the victory that crowned the reigning world champs the winners of Group B.

Notable Highlights

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Mason Williams
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