6. Moritz and Franz Wagner
The next three entries all have a similarity between them: one brother who is playing at an elite level or on the way to doing so, and one that is not making much of an impact in the NBA right now, if any at all. Let’s start with the Wagners.
Moe was the first to make it to the NBA, charting a path from Germany to the Michigan Wolverines to a late first-round selection by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. By the end of that first season, he was on the move to Washington in the deal that got Anthony Davis to La La Land.
The Orlando Magic are already Moe’s fifth team. Last year, he played 63 games off the bench and managed to average 9 points per game, despite playing only 15.2 minutes per game. He has yet to play this season, though, hindered by a foot injury. Meanwhile, the influx of talented young big men on the roster will leave him in a tenuous position when he returns.
One of those roster spots belong to his younger brother, Franz, who took the same path as big brother to the league. The guard has little to worry about in regards to his future on the roster, though, as he’s one of the best players in Orlando’s young core.
Franz was an First Team All-Rookie player in 2021-22, emerging as a star with a 38-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks. He averaged 15.2 points per game on 35.4 percent shooting from three as a rookie.
This season, Franz is scoring more and becoming more of a playmaker, settling into a secondary starring role alongside Paolo Banchero. His shooting has been somewhat atrocious, but assuming that recovers, he’ll be knocking on All-Star status sooner rather than later.