Franz Wagner 1-on-1: Guarding Mavs' Luka Doncic in NBA & FIBA, Germany's Success & More

After the Mavs defeated the Magic, Franz Wagner spoke with DallasBasketball.com, discussing guarding Luka Doncic and previewing the 2024 Olympics.

DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic had a dynamic performance against the Orlando Magic on Monday, totaling 45 points, 15 assists, and nine rebounds to lead the 131-129 victory. 

While Franz Wagner plays in the Eastern Conference with the Magic, he has a rare perspective of being someone with a prominent role in facing Doncic in the NBA and FIBA settings. Recently, Wagner was sidelined when Germany defeated Slovenia during the 2023 FIBA World Cup but played when his team lost to Doncic at EuroBasket 2022.

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When guarding Doncic, Wagner highlighted both Slovenia and the Mavs have a similar style with a spaced-out offense to play out of high pick-and-roll. However, a key distinction is the difference in rules, resulting in more foul calls in the NBA setting than when competing in FIBA. 

"I think it's pretty similar, I would say, because both teams play pretty similar," Wagner told DallasBasketball.com. "Slovenia is very spaced out with a lot of shooters around him. Obviously, heavy pick-and-roll and rolling big, pretty much like Dallas does. It's pretty similar, I think. In general, FIBA is a little bit more physical. I imagine he would say the same thing. Some of the calls in the NBA are probably not as much in FIBA."

Wagner recently mentioned learning from Doncic's finishing approach when discussing players he studied on film. Doncic often throws off the timing of the on-ball defender and helps defense by using slow steps deep on his drives, but he does a great job of breaking down defenders on the perimeter with his handle, too. 

"He's dominating the league, and he's not doing it super fast. He's actually not the most athletic out there, and I think that's one skill that everybody can kind of learn from how he gets slow in the paint with different ways to do it," Wagner said. "How he changes pace on the perimeter, that's what basketball is really about to me. It's fun to watch and honestly super hard to play against."

When taking stock, Doncic has a dynamic step-back 3-pointer going to his left, has a dynamic ability to break down defenders in space with his handle, can use his bigger frame to overpower smaller defenders, has short-range impressive counters, has great touch on floaters, and can slow it down on drives to throw off timing. When guarding him, Wagner says it's "super difficult," and you have to "live with" tough shots going in. 

"It's very difficult to guard. Obviously, you can get to the step back whenever you want, so it's super difficult," Wagner said. "You're going to have to live with some tough buckets from him. He's a great player, and I think that's just what it is."

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It's not just difficult to stop Doncic as a point of attack on the perimeter. He can be moved around in the half-court as a threat in off-ball screening actions like Zoom actions, play off the elbow in Horns, or be used in the post. The continued diversified approach, whether with Slovenia or the Mavs, makes it more challenging to contain him since it's less taxing and involves more players to make plays.

"I think that's just something that they probably talked about. I think as the game goes on, it's probably not the easiest to always handle the ball the whole possession," Wagner said. "So, I think that's a good way to give good players to move the ball and make decisions. It's just one of the best players that we have that are in the game right now."

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Wagner is coming off a successful run with Germany, winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup and clinching a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He attributes the continuity and chemistry his team shares to helping to achieve big results. 

"I think our vibe was really cool as a team, so we have to make sure we keep that. Just keep getting better as a group," Wagner said. "I think that's what we did throughout the tournament in Asia. Other teams are going to figure stuff out and stuff like that; we have to make sure we get better as a group."

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While Germany benefits from having continuity within its basketball federation, USA Basketball is known for constant turnover. While Wagner hasn't put much thought into potentially facing talents like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, or Kawhi Leonard in the Olympics, he embraces always facing the toughest competition.

"I haven't really thought about it. We're in the middle of the [NBA] season, but I'm excited for it," Wagner said. "I love playing against good players and good competition, so it should be fun."

The Mavs will not face the Magic again this regular season after sweeping the two-game season series.