Magic’s Moe Wagner continues rehab, working to be ready by next season

Moe Wagner could only watch from the sidelines when younger brother Franz Wagner and star teammate Paolo Banchero returned to the court to help the Magic make their way back to the playoffs and battle Boston before a second straight first-round exit.

Keeping its season afloat was already tough enough for Orlando in December without Franz Wagner and Banchero, but things took a turn for the worse when Moe Wagner tore his left ACL four days before Christmas.

And after guard Jalen Suggs appeared in only one game following Jan. 3 because of a back injury and left knee cartilage tear, Jamahl Mosley‘s squad had just two of its four double-digit scorers in the postseason.

The quartet played just six games together in 2024-25.

“It’s tough to watch, but at the same time you have a decision,” Moe Wagner said recently. “You can sulk about it and be mad, or you can take it as an opportunity to grow and learn from it, and view the game from a different perspective.

“I tried to do that, tried to ask questions and tried to look at basketball from a different view, and I learned a lot about this group and myself, especially,” he added. “I’m very excited to be playing again to use that and become more professional, more equipped to [have] a successful career.”

His goal is to be ready for the start of next season.

But the rehab is long and taxing for the 6-11 center.

“That’s part of the rehab — you go day-by-day, you figure it out, but, of course, that’s what I’m working toward,” Wagner said of next season. “I’m pretty positive-minded toward that.”

Wagner didn’t share specific information about the work he’s done recently, but throughout the end of the regular season and the playoffs, he was seen regularly exercising in the weight room, riding a stationary bike or doing some light spot-shooting on the court.

“I work every day,” he said. “I honestly told the people that are responsible for me that they take care of all the stuff around me and I just show up every day. So I can’t really give you specific data about that. I just show up with a smile, figure it out and hope I’ll be ready by the season.”

Where he’ll spend next season is still to be determined.

The Magic have to make a decision by June 29 about the second year of Wagner’s two-year, $22 million contract that he signed last summer. If Orlando declines the club option, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent but could return on a new contract.

If it’s any indicator, Orlando declined Wagner’s team option last summer for the second year of his previous two-year, $16 million deal before signing him to his current contract.

Wagner, who played on four teams the first three years of his career, has enjoyed his time in Orlando, where he’s spent the last four seasons.

“Honestly, I’ve felt great here,” he said. “I’m very excited to be here. I feel like I’m valued here. I understand that this is a professional environment, so there are no givens. That’s all I can say about that.”

Although he played just 30 games (one season after appearing in 80 for the first time), Wagner was in the middle of a career-year when he went down.

He averaged 12.9 points and 4.9 rebounds on 36% shooting from 3-point range, all marks that were personal bests. He scored in double figures 23 times, 20-plus points twice and 30-plus points once, including a career-high 32 points on Dec. 15 vs. New York.

The night he got hurt, Wagner was second behind only Boston’s Payton Pritchard (the NBA Sixth Man of the Year) in total bench scoring up until that point of the season (448 points vs. 372), according to NBA.com. Wagner’s total rebounds (143) among bench players were seventh-most.

Orlando started the year 18-12 with Wagner and went 23-29 without him but continued to play hard regardless.

“That’s kind of what you want to be a part of, a group like that playing hard,” Wagner said. “We’ve been playing hard ever since we got here. That’s what Moe stands for. I know that even if we didn’t win, I know that nobody wants to see us. I know that playing the Orlando Magic is not a fun night and that’s something we embrace. That’s something we’ve got to continue to work with and be confident in.

“That’s our M.O. and we’ll continue to do that,” he added.

The Magic know their M.O. but they missed their Moe.

And the “E” in Moe stands for effort, something Magic fans appreciate from him.

And in turn, he appreciates them.

“The turnover in the league is so high that being a part of something that’s bigger than your individual career is very rare and something that you have to embrace and appreciate. … That’s something that we have here,” he said. “I look in the stands every night and you kind of remind yourself on nights like the win against the Celtics or Atlanta, there were times where we won 20 games in a season here and now we’re playing in the playoffs.

“That feels really good to be part of that journey of an organization and you feel the city buzzing about basketball again.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Magic’s Moe Wagner continues rehab, working to be ready by next season

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