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They are not optimistic about you, but you are the most competitive

In the offseason, when the Magic renewed Wagner Jr.'s contract with a 5-year 224 million cap salary, most people's first reaction was that Wagner Jr. could get the top salary? The average of 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game is very good, but it seems to be close to the top salary.


The contract could reach up to $270 million, if Wagner is named to the All-Tournament team next season. In the history of the Germany men's basketball team, Nowitzki earned $250 million in his entire career, and Wagner Jr. surpassed his predecessors in one contract.



Under such pressure, Wagner Jr. embarked on his Olympic journey. As the World Cup champion, Germany's strength is second only to United States. In the previous warm-up game with the United States, although Germany was reversed by James scoring 11 points in a row, Wagner Jr. faced a group of NBA stars in that game with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.


In the first game of the group stage against Japan, Wagner Jr. shot 9-of-17 and scored 22 points and 6 rebounds. After the game, the head coach of the Japan team said: "You can't guard him in the NBA, and it's hard for us to guard against him"; Against Brazil, Wagner Jr. shot 7-of-15 and finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.



In the win over France this morning, Wagner Jr. played his best form since the start of the Olympic Games. Played 33 minutes, shot 8-of-15, and scored 26 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, with a plus/minus of +15. So far, Wagner Jr. has scored a total of 75 points in three games, ranking second only to Brother Alphabet for the time being.


France has already reflected the essence of the "paper tiger" in the game against Japan, the defensive ability of the guard line is weak, Gobert does not have any offensive ability, Wemban is essentially an outside play, and the proud defensive system is choked enough by Kawamura Yuki alone.



When France's back line looked even worse against Schroeder, the most valuable player of the World Cup, Fournier was passed by Schroeder in one step, and the other people changed the defense to the same effect. After blocking and dismantling, Gobert was named, and the step-back three-pointer came easily, and Schroeder single-handedly broke the France defense.


Schroder finished the game with 26 points and 9 assists on 10-of-17 shooting. What is even more terrifying about the Germany team is that there is also Wagner Jr., a ball-carrying player whose ball-holding influence is not weaker than Schröder's. When Schroeder rested, Wagner began to dominate the ball.



Against Gobert, Wagner Jr. used speed to break through the next score, and when France was suddenly overwhelmed by Schroeder and Wagner and began to use joint defense restrictions, Wagner Jr. began to fire on the outside. There were two shots in this match that were at the Olympic Top 10 level.


In the first round, Wagner Jr. shook off Batum's entanglement in the middle line and took off to meet the two France defenders to complete the dunk. At that moment, I remembered the famous scene of Kobe Bryant separating the two people from the Nets that year. The moment the photo freezes, five people in France become the backdrop for little Wagner.



In the second round, Wagner Jr. switched hands in the air and dunked successfully under the defensive pressure of Wemban's defensive pressure in the transition attack. The first goal showed the physicality of Wagner Jr., and the second showed the spirituality of his play. Although Wembanyama is behind him, the sense of defensive pressure is full, and he has already predicted Xiao Wa's dunk line, but Xiao Wa has already responded.



France's weakness is the lack of a qualified ball-handler to organise the attack, while Germany's advantage is precisely that there are two excellent commanders, Schröder and Wagner Jr., who are small and large, so that Germany even has the ability to wrestle with the United States.


Of course, in the NBA world, a player of Wagner Jr.'s size is much more popular than Schroder. The 2.08m forward can control the ball and break through, has good defensive ability and a basket (although it is not very stable), and is even more free on the off-ball end.



You could say that Wagner Jr. is still at a stage where he knows a little bit but is not proficient in anything, but he is only 23 years old and fully deserves a maximum salary from the Magic to keep him. I believe that as time goes on and Wagner Jr. continues to improve, there will be fewer and fewer voices questioning him.


If you don't believe me, after the Olympics, let's take a look at what fans say about Wagner Jr.

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