Mosley on Wagner Injury: Orlando Magic Impact

A year after the rupture of a cruciate ligament in the left knee of his brother Moritz, whose return is expected by the end of the month, it is Franz Wagner who collapsed yesterday at the start of the match against New York.

Wanting to recover a lobbed pass, the German winger was jostled in the air by Ariel Hukporti and received poorly, causing a twist in his left knee and his immediate exit.

The images are enough to worry the Magic and its staff, who could once again lose a major player while Paolo Banchero has just returned from a groin injury. Jamahl Mosley was of course asked about this big blow, simply specifying that Franz Wagner was going to take exams when the team returned to Orlando. Until then, the technician keeps his fingers crossed.

“We never like to see a player collapse like that, and it hurt my heart to see him fall like that. I just pray in hope that everything goes well for him. But once again, it’s something we don’t wish on anyone, especially him. He tries to do everything right every time he steps on the field.”he confided during his press briefing. “It took us a good minute to get back into it, which is natural when one of your brothers gets hurt. It takes a little while. It hit me in the heart as soon as it fell, so it’s hard to get back into it. But as time went on, I thought our guys came back into the game. Everyone fought to come back, because no matter what happens, we’re going to fight until the buzzer. »

A situation already experienced by the Magic…

The injury is all the more frustrating for Franz Wagner as he was the best player on his team with 23 points, 6 rebounds and nearly 4 assists on average per game with very good shooting percentages, not far from his career best (48.7% shooting, including 35.4% from 3-point range).

“Franz was great”continued Jamahl Mosley regarding the start of his protégé’s 2025/26 financial year. “He rises to the occasion and does everything we ask him to do, starting with the defensive aspect where he takes on different challenges depending on the situation. On offense, he continues to progress while playing with confidence. We know what he excels at, getting into the paint to attack the circle, going to the free throw line, taking his shots with confidence… He was very good for us this season. »

While waiting to learn more about the duration of his unavailability, it is up to Jamahl Mosley to think about what comes next and how the rest of his group will have to compensate for the German’s absence, potentially for a long period of time. Unfortunately or fortunately for him, the Magic technician is used to this kind of adventure…

“We’ve been through this before, and it’s the kind of thing we rely on when we find ourselves facing this situation again. We learn from this experience because we learn from these things. What are we going to do? How can we play? Of course we never like to see a player get injured, but we talked about our depth of squad and how defense should be our strong point. Our guys will have to take their responsibilities, it will also depend on the duration of his unavailability,” he pointed out.

Start of response this Tuesday against Miami in the semi-final of the NBA Cup.

How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.