Franz Wagner explains differences of learning basketball in Europe vs USA / News - Basketnews.com

Wagner said he learned passing and cutting from a very young age and didn't play pick-and-roll until he was around 15. Sometimes, his team would have practice drills where the players were not allowed to dribble.

Credit: Melissa Tamez/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press - Scanpix Credit Melissa Tamez/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press - Scanpix

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner is one of the better European players in the NBA. Last September, he led the German national team to a 2023 FIBA World Cup title. During the tournament, many people noticed the vast difference in how Team USA plays compared to teams from Europe.

Franz Wagner

Team:Orlando MagicPosition:SFAge:22Height:205 cmWeight:100 kgBirth place:Berlin, GermanyProfileNewsStatistics

Teams like Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Latvia, and Lithuania moved the ball much more often, and their game featured much more cuts and less isolation play than Team USA. Additionally, Team USA was quite often outrebounded, which led to three losses in the entire tournament, with the squad finishing fourth.

The AAU system, which is dominant in the US, is quite different from the one in Europe and Germany, in particular.

"The system itself is different - you don't play for your local school or anything like that. You practice in a club, your local club, most of the time. As you get older and better, there are only a few select clubs that make sense as a young player to play for. I was fortunate - I started off with one of those clubs from a young age. I didn't have to move places or go work out an hour from my home like a lot of other players have to do. When they grow up, they leave home when they're 14-15 to practice with a better, bigger club that has more resources and better coaches and plays in higher leagues," Wagner said in The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick.

"I was fortunate with that in Berlin that I had that club right up the street from us, basically. I started playing when I was seven. You just kind of move up age ranks I would say. If you're a good player, you play on the first team. If you're on the first team in your age group, you start to play nationally around 12-14," he continued. "In Germany, there are tournaments throughout the year. If you're on a bigger club, you get to play against other European clubs and their younger teams. Once I got around 14-15-16, I didn't just practice with the U16 team anymore, I practiced with the U19 team. They saw potential in me, so they brought me to the professional club. I had my first practice there when I was 16."

Franz Wagner

MIN:33.38PTS:20.85 (55.48%)REB:5.82As:3.88ST:1.15BL:0.35TO:1.85GM:34ProfileNBA2023/2024

Like many Europeans in the NBA, Wagner is known for his excellent footwork and basketball fundamentals, his movement without the ball. It all starts at a very young age when scoring is sometimes not the priority during practices. Kids don't even play basketball at times.

"I didn't play pick-and-roll until I was like 15, maybe," Wagner said, leaving Redick shocked. "We play completely different in practice, we just grow up playing different. It was all give-and-go, cut, pass-and-move. We had structure and principles but no system like two-high. We didn't have none of that growing up. Just concepts, reading the game, reading space, cutting, passing. I remember growing up we had this game in practice - if you get as a team 10 passes in a row, you get a point. It wasn't even about scoring. It was just, can you move, pass, cut better than the other team can defend you? It's just how you grow up playing basketball. I think you can tell when you watch European players play a little bit."

"I remember learning pivot, basic footwork when I started playing basketball at seven-eight years old. It's not how many between-the-legs dribblings you can do in a row, it's can you be balanced with the basketball, basic shooting, cutting, just understanding the game," the German forward explained. "Sometimes we would play soccer when I was seven-eight years old. Fun was more part of practice than getting in your back stuff I would say. Reading and reacting drills and the footwork stuff, the most basic stuff we did a lot growing up."

Analysis of the USA's AAU system:

Full The Old Man and The Three podcast with Franz Wagner:

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