Franz Wagner of Michigan drafted by Orlando Magic at No. 8 in 2021 NBA draft
Franz Wagner is going to the Orlando Magic.
The former Michigan basketball star was selected in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft with the No. 8 overall pick, becoming the highest Wolverine taken since Nik Stauskas went No. 8 overall in 2014. Wagner is also the first player of coach Juwan Howard to be drafted.
Three picks earlier at No. 5, Orlando selected Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs.
He was commonly projected to go between Nos. 7 and 10 overall leading up to the draft. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound wing finished a standout sophomore season in 2020-21 during which he started all 28 games and averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks.
Wagner was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and a third-team selection by the media; he was also a member of the Associated Press All-Big Ten second team.
This past season, Wagner was a key component of a Michigan team that won the Big Ten title, earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and reached the Elite Eight. And in the process, Wagner blossomed into a highly valued NBA prospect. He was an elite defender who constantly affected opposing offenses by shutting down plays or creating turnovers with deflections. He affected shots with his length and had impressive lateral agility for a defender his size.
Offensively, Wagner improved drastically as a passer between his freshman and sophomore seasons, tripling his assist numbers, and showed proclivity as a secondary creator in Michigan's ball-screen heavy offense.
Wagner arrived at Michigan in the summer of 2019 after a recruitment that was interrupted by the departure of former head coach John Beilein on the eve of Wagner's official visit to Ann Arbor. Still, despite those circumstances, Wagner chose to play for the Wolverines — the same team that his older brother, Moritz, had starred for before the Lakers drafted him in the first round of the 2018 draft with the No. 25 overall pick.
Despite fracturing his right wrist shortly before the start of his freshman year, Wagner impressed during the COVID-shortened season, averaging 11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 assists. He caught fire in the back half of the season with a series of impressive scoring performances, averaging 15.8 points over the final eight contests.
Wagner considered entering the draft that spring but elected to return to Michigan for a sophomore season — a decision that seems to have been validated by his selection in the draft.
Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter. The Free Press has started a new digital subscription model. Here's how you can gain access to our most exclusive Michigan Wolverines content.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Franz Wagner drafted by Orlando Magic at No. 8 in NBA draft
