Orlando Magic rookie Franz Wagner entered training camp on Tuesday familiar with most of his teammates and coaches, and didn’t feel too nervous to take the court for the first time this season as a result.
The notion of participating in the first practice of training camp can be daunting. Rookies are learning a completely new system against better and stronger competition, and are also tasked with picking up new terminology and plays.
Wagner had the opportunity to learn some of the new system under head coach Jamahl Mosley in the Las Vegas Summer League. Some of those plays have carried over into training camp, giving Wagner a bit of a head start on the playbook.
With some familiarity with the system, the first practice for Wagner went as expected.
I wouldn’t say I wasn’t too nervous. I saw all of the guys in the gym these past couple of weeks and, obviously, I know the coaches from summer league really well. I think we’re going to have a really cohesive group and everybody is super supportive. Even in this practice, there were like five times where I asked someone a question and everybody was super helpful.
The first practice for the Magic featured plenty of energy and enthusiasm as Mosley said afterward. Wagner and fellow lottery pick Jalen Suggs helped lead the charge as the team looked to be excited to kick off the season together.
Wagner wrapped up with a lively shooting drill against Jonathan Isaac.
Magic rookie Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac wrapping up practice today with a shooting drill pic.twitter.com/PfNxsZXPcc
— Cody Taylor (@CodyTaylorNBA) September 28, 2021
The session on Tuesday morning was the first of two practices for the Magic to open up training camp. They were set to return in the evening with some scrimmages and more active drills on the court likely in store for them, Mosley said.
The Magic enter the season as the third-youngest team in the league and will rely on their youth plenty throughout the year. On Tuesday, they offered a glimpse of what that might look like this season.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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