Franz Wagner promises after Magic lost to the Celtics in the playoffs

Franz Wagner made a firm assurance after the Magic lost to defending champion Celtics in the playoffs.

The Orlando Magic lost to defending champion Boston Celtics 89-120 in Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs, and the Magic's 2024-25 season ended. Despite the loss, forward Franz Wagner left the court with an optimistic view of the future.

Wagner scored 25 points in 40 minutes of playing time, contributing 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal, making him the scoring champion of the Orlando Magic. After the game, the fourth-year winger expressed confidence in the team's direction and made a firm statement about the offseason.

"I think we've seen how effective our defense is against one of the best teams in the league," Wagner said. "You know, they won all the games last year, so there are a lot of games that are close. Obviously, these games, including today's third quarter, and the last four minutes of the last game, just one or two possessions can make a huge difference - we draw 2-2 today, which may be different, but that's exactly what the fun of the playoffs is. We'll make sure to get better off the offseason and we'll be back in a better shape next year." The Magic's defense is solid, and Franz Wagner rebounded strongly against the Celtics series

The Orlando Magic's defense has been consistent throughout the series. During the regular season, the Boston Celtics averaged 116.3 points per game and shot 36.8% from three-pointers. The Magic limited the Celtics to 106.4 points per game in the series while limiting their long-distance shooting percentage to 11.8 3-pointers per game, despite a slight increase in shooting percentage to 37.8%.

Wagner's performance marks a major change from his 2024 playoff season. In the first round of the playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, he averaged 18.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting 40.8% from the field and 26.5% from three-pointers. But in the brutal seventh game, his dilemma was even worse, with only 1 of 15 shots and 0 of 5 three-pointers.

Against the Celtics this year, Wagner averaged 25.8 points, 5.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, with a total shooting percentage of up to 44.3%.

Wagner focuses on the next step after the series breakthrough, and the Magic are striving to continue in the playoffs. After Game 5, Wagner admitted that he has improved compared to last year, but will still focus on what needs to be improved – most notably his 3-point shooting percentage. In the series, he shot just 18.9% of his three-point shooting percentage.

"I just talked about three-pointers, which is where I absolutely need to improve," Wagner said. "Other than that, if I feel I've improved compared to last year, it's always great. The league we're in is tough, so seeing this progress is great for me, but the result is the same as last year, so hopefully we can survive this round next year."

head coach Jamal Mosley praised Wagner's progress and his ability to play alongside Paul Bancero in high pressure situations.

"I mean, he has the ability to handle all the challenges, the best player on the defensive team, the ability to score offensively... his resilience, and the resilience to find a solution to the problem no matter what the situation is," Mosley said.

Magic ended the season with a record of 41 wins and 41 losses, entering the playoffs for the second consecutive year. While the result is exactly the same as last season’s early exit, Wagner’s leap in the playoffs and the team’s continued growth provided a reason for Orlando to turn his attention to the offseason.