Wagner brothers lead Germany to first-ever FIBA World Cup Gold Medal

We’re still more than a month away from the NBA season, and while most players are spending the offseason relaxing and training, two former Wolverines won gold medals.

Franz and Mo Wagner helped lead Germany to their first-ever FIBA World Cup, defeating Serbia, 83-77. The Wagner brothers combined for 27 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

Franz (16.8) and Mo (11.9) were the second- and third-leading scorers for Germany, respectively. Franz also averaged 6.5 rebounds, three assists, and 1.3 steals over four games, while Mo averaged 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and one steal over eight rounds. For his efforts, Franz was honored on the World Cup 2023 All-Second Team while recovering from an ankle injury.

The Wagner weren’t the only former Wolverines participating in the World Cup. Ignas Brazdekis played for Team Lithuania, who fell to Serbia in the quarterfinals. He was their third-leading scorer, averaging 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists over eight games.

Four Wolverines in total competed in the World Cup, including a player on the 2023-24 roster. Olivier Nkamhoua, who is expected to be one of the best players for Michigan this season, was the third-leading rebounder for Finland (3.8), who ended the World Cup in the Classification round. He also averaged eight points and two assists per game.

Another former Wolverine — Jordan Morgan — competed for Slovenia in two qualifying round games and four friendly games before World Cup play, averaging 17 points and 10.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the qualifying assists.

Morgan was one of the last two cuts made as Slovenia finalized their 12-man roster before the tournament.

Congrats to the Wagner brothers, as it’s always cool to win a Gold Medal and represent your country. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on them in the NBA this season, as they’ll be two of four former Wolverines on the Orlando Magic roster.