The Orlando Magic beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115:97 – and the focus of the celebration party is a German player: Franz Wagner (20)!
The rookie scored a terrific 28 points in just his eighth game in the world’s strongest basketball league. An absolute performance explosion, his old NBA record was 19 points! For comparison: Germany’s basketball hero Dirk Nowitzki (43) had a record of 29 points in his first NBA season in 1998/99.
The club showed a video from the dressing room on Twitter after the game. You can see how the teammates celebrated the young German after the win.
The Orlando pros celebrated their new star with a loud roar and lots of splashing water. And coach Jamahl Mosley (43) praised his player: “This is proof of his high basketball IQ and his knowledge of this game. He is a selfless player and will always try to make the right decision. If the defense traps him, he will play the ball. He’s not a selfish player at all, he wants to move the ball.”
The absolute highlight of Franz Wagner’s brilliant performance against the Timberwolves: a monster dunking against two opponents in the last quarter.
“I’ve dunk before. But I’ve never dunk like that in my life,” the former Alba Berlin player commented on the crazy scene after the game.
Wagner explained: “I didn’t know how nice the dunk looked, I just looked at it in the locker room. I just tried to jump as high as possible. I only saw one opponent in front of me. … Of course I’m very happy that it worked out.”
With his super performance, the 2.08 meter slacker also overshadowed his brother Moritz (24). The former Los Angeles Lakers pro only played six minutes and scored two points.
Schröder bankruptcy against the Bulls
While the Wagner brothers won, Dennis Schröder (28), another German star, suffered another bankruptcy. The international and his Boston Celtics suffered their fifth defeat against the Chicago Bulls with a score of 114:128.
Schröder, who again only came off the bench, experienced a mixed evening with 13 points and five assists, hitting only three of his ten attempts from the field.
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Source: PICTURE / Twitter @ AndreDrummond