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Magic Star Franz Wagner Suffers Leg Injury After Taking Nasty Spill vs. Knicks
The Magic took on the Knicks on Sunday in a matinee matchup at Madison Square Garden with most of the sports world focused on the College Football Playoff bracket reveal and Week 14 of the NFL season. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for disaster to strike for Orlando.
After building a small lead in the first quarter, young Magic star Franz Wagner ran out in transition along with teammate Anthony Black. Black tossed the ball up to Wagner to try and connect on an alley-oop. Wagner went up to catch the pass but got hit from behind by Knicks defender Ariel Hukporti. Wagner then landed awkwardly and immediately grabbed his knee in pain.
Franz Wagner is down holding his knee 🙏 pic.twitter.com/u8CDEMEodV
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) December 7, 2025
Wagner remained on the floor for a few minutes before he was helped to the locker room by training staff without putting any weight on his leg. Shortly thereafter the Magic announced Wagner was out for the game after he sustained a “lower leg injury” and would be re-evaluated upon his return to Orlando.
A frightening sight for the Magic. Wagner is a big piece of their core alongside Paolo Banchero and put forth a great stretch of play over the last few weeks with Banchero sidelined due to injury. So far this year the 24-year-old forward out of Michigan is averaging 23.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game; the Magic were 14-9 entering Sunday, good for fifth in the Eastern Conference.
If Wagner were to miss extended time the Magic will need Banchero to step up big-time. Orlando will participate in the NBA Cup playoffs on Tuesday and Banchero is finally healthy again after missing nearly a month due to a groin strain. The Magic figure to be contenders this season but haven’t been very lucky health-wise. Hopefully Wagner won’t have to miss much time.
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Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.