Franz Wagner is Pushing the Magic Back Into Relevancy

The Orlando Magic are looking strong thanks to Franz Wagner's leadership over the course of the season.

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner drives around Milwaukee Bucks forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner is enjoying one of the greatest stretches of his career to date.

Wagner has scored 30 or more points in each of the last four games for the Magic, all of which have ended up in wins or an overtime loss against the Golden State Warriors. Magic head coach Sean Sweeney spoke highly of Wagner following his near triple-double in the team's most recent victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.

"He's doing a great job of showing leadership, doing a great job of competing about the right things. You know, when you want to talk about putting your energy in the right places, he's putting it in the right places. His work habits have been great, every which way. He's playing at an All-Star, All-NBA level over time now, doing a great job," Sweeney said.

Franz Wagner Fueling Magic Win Streak

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner drives around Milwaukee Bucks forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When Paolo Banchero went down following the team's second game of the season, an opportunity opened up for Franz Wagner to showcase what he is capable of. Last season, Wagner only played in 34 games for the team. In a good chunk of those games, he was playing at less than 100 percent as he was trying to recover and get ready for the playoffs.

Wagner has shown that when he is the leading scorer on the court, he can carry Orlando to victory. It isn't exactly the preferred idea for Orlando's offense, but knowing that the Magic will be able to have either Wagner or Banchero on the court (when both are healthy) is a huge part of the team's identity and path to victory.

Wagner getting the opportunity to take on that A1 assignment over these couple of weeks is good for his development, especially as he learns Sweeney's offensive system on the fly. Sweeney's offense is supposed to have more structure than Jamahl Mosley's did, so the fact that Wagner is enjoying the best stretch of his career averaging 24.4 points per game in the first 12 contests is a great sign of what's to come.

Wagner and the Magic will return to the court for a rematch with the Boston Celtics, who they fell short against two weeks ago at the Kia Center on Nov. 1. Tip-off is scheduled for tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET inside TD Garden in Boston. Fans can watch the game on NBC Sports Network.