As part of an ongoing series at HoopsHype, we’re breaking down some of the most interesting trends we have seen around the NBA throughout the season.
Of course, the name of this column is derived from basketball’s three-second violation rule. With that in mind, the goal of this exercise is to find one of the most interesting subjects about the game and explain the three keys to why it is happening while also providing context on what makes it interesting.
For this edition, Three in the Key will take a look at someone that has been heating up of late. We’re focusing on Orlando Magic rookie Franz Wagner, who deserves to hear his name in the Rookie of the Year conversation.
Not only does Wagner have the single-game scoring high for rookies so far this season (38 points) but he also owns four of the ten largest scoring nights for first-year players thus far in 2021-22.