Franz Wagner and Germany look to extend their 2023 FIBA World Cup success during this new quest to reign supreme in the 2025 EuroBasket Although the powerhouse known as Team USA won’t be an opponent to worry about, Wagner will still have to go against some of the NBA’s best. Specifically, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, both of whom have earned high levels of respect from Wagner.
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European players take the privilege to represent their nation extremely seriously. Unlike the American national team in the 2025 AmeriCup, which has no active NBA player, some of the biggest European NBA stars were more than happy to suit up for their country.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic are arguably three of the top five players in the NBA, all participating in the EuroBasket. Needless to say, Wagner will have his work cut out for him over the next few weeks.
Before the start of the tournament, Wagner sat down with Eurohoops for an exclusive interview, where he talked about what it was like like to compete against a player as great as Doncic. Wagner does so in the NBA and during international competition and was happy to reveal what made Luka so special.
“I think there’s a few players in the world that are as versatile or can manipulate the game as well as he does offensively,” Wagner said.
Very few players are as tough a cover as Doncic is. The five-time All-NBA First Team member doesn’t have the ball-handling ability as some other players, his former teammate Kyrie Irving for instance. But he will use his pace to find just a single gap and more often than not, it is enough.
“You can’t just guard him with one player. You have to switch up the looks that you give and also be okay with him making some tough looks,” Wagner added.
Some of that criteria also applies to Jokic, but Wagner doesn’t believe it is what necessarily makes the three-time MVP special. The Orlando Magic star believes one specific element in both Doncic and Jokic’s game that sets them apart from the rest of the herd.
“I think what makes them special is that they’re most tough to guard when they’re passing,” Wagner revealed. “But at the same time, they can pretty much score one-on-one every time.”
Doncic and Jokic possess a level of court vision that is by no means normal. Basketball fans have just grown accustomed to their magical moments on the court. But both of their teams will drastically need that degree of playmaking.
Doncic’s Slovenian national team and Jokic’s Serbian national team don’t possess the same talent as their NBA counterparts. One thing they do have, however, is amazing team chemistry. Coupled with these two stars’ ability to make the right reads, they serve as the engine that determines how far their team goes.
It won’t be easy to stop that ignition once it starts, even for players such as Wagner. Luckily for him, Slovenia and Serbia are not a country in Germany’s group stage. But a run-in later down the line is nearly guaranteed, assuming each team lives up to its potential.
