TITLE: Franz Wagner Sees Little Change in Luka Doncic Despite Off-Season Shape-Up
SLUG: franz-wagner-sees-little-change-in-luka-doncic-despite-off-season-shape-up
CONTENT:
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic exited FIBA EuroBasket 2025 after Slovenia’s 94-86 quarterfinal defeat to Germany on 10 September at Arena Riga in Latvia. The German squad, fronted by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, overturned an early deficit with a decisive fourth quarter.
Doncic delivered 39 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the loss, capping a tournament in which he averaged 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.7 steals over seven games. His scoring led all participants; he ranked second in assists, eighth in rebounds and first in steals, earning a nomination for the event’s Best Defensive Player award.
Wagner on Doncic’s Conditioning
Much of the pre-tournament attention focused on Doncic’s offseason conditioning improvements, yet Wagner said he noticed little difference compared with previous matchups.
“He’s like that all the time, so I see no difference really,” Wagner told reporters, calling Doncic “an extremely good player” and adding that any marginal improvements are “tough to tell with him.”
The German forward has faced the Slovenian guard repeatedly in NBA and international play and described Wednesday’s performance as consistent with Doncic’s usual level of dominance.
Despite the early exit, the Lakers guard left EuroBasket atop several statistical categories, giving Los Angeles supporters reason for optimism ahead of the upcoming NBA season.
Source: Lakers Nation
