BERLIN — A soft, steady snow was falling outside Borchardt, one of the city’s most famous restaurants, as the front doors flung open.
A coat rack, on wheels, was directly behind the door, and on Monday night, local superstar Franz Wagner removed his jacket and scarf and hung it on a hanger. He was wearing a sweater and khaki pants, dressed for a casual but important dinner where he grew up. Behind him were his parents and another Berlin star, his brother Moritz.
They were greeted by restaurant managers, who were expecting them, and together, they moved past the bar and to a table near the back, though it was not secluded in any way from the rest of the patrons who were cutting into large plates of schnitzel and sharing bottles of German pinot noir as the two native sons-turned-Orlando Magic stalwarts walked by with their family.
A few minutes after the Wagners arrived, through the same doors and past the same coat rack and bar, walked two American stars and Magic teammates, Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane. Tristan Da Silva, another Orlando player, was born in Munich. He joined the party. Eventually, so did Wendell Carter and Orlando Robinson.
For about two hours on Monday, the Wagners entertained the aforementioned Magic teammates at one of their hometown’s finest restaurants. It was the informal kickoff to Franz and Moritz playing host to Orlando, and to the NBA, which is hosting two games between the Magic and Memphis Grizzlies in Europe over the next several days, including Thursday in Berlin. As the NBA continues to draw top talent from outside the United States, events like this, where a league star gets to host teammates in his home city for a real game, can and will become more frequent. Last season, for instance, Victor Wembanyama welcomed his San Antonio teammates to his native Paris for two games against the Indiana Pacers.
Like Wembanyama in Paris last January, the Wagner brothers couldn’t have been more proud to show off Berlin. Especially since their dinner almost didn’t happen.
The dinner at Borchardt, which is a must for Hollywood stars or really for any famous visitor (for instance, a waiter working Monday said he waited on Giannis Antetokounmpo twice during a recent summer, and Tuesday, NBA Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash were in the restaurant with Magic coach Jamahl Mosley), was originally set for 40 guests and was to be held in a private room upstairs.
Franz and Moe Wagner defend Victor Wembanyama during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Like Wembanyama last year, the Wagners were able to host teammates in their home city in advance of an NBA game. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
The Wagners’ event wasn’t going to have the flash and pizazz of Wembanyama’s dinner last year — held at a Michelin-Star restaurant along the Champs-Élysées, with a pre-selected menu and co-hosted by Louis Vuitton — but like the Spurs dinner in Paris, it was to be for all the players to join the Wagners and delight in famous German cuisine.
However, Orlando played a game at home on Sunday night before taking the trans-Atlantic flight, and when the plane touched down after noon in Berlin on Monday, the players were understandably fatigued.
The Wagners’ formal dinner was, in fact, called off, so players could catch up on sleep with practice looming Tuesday. But the Wagners were going to go, anyway, and if any teammates showed, all the better.
That so many members of the Magic walked through Borchardt’s doors, with the snow falling and the ice mounting outside, on a dark, cold night when they could’ve otherwise been sleeping, made the occasion even more special to the Wagner brothers. Because this wasn’t just them showing off Berlin to the whole team in a setting where it would have been inappropriate for anyone to skip. The Magic players had to make the effort to be there for Franz and Mo.
“It meant a lot,” Franz told The Athletic. “With the travel and everything, and how tired everyone was, it was really cool that they took the time to still come and join us and have a good German meal.”
“I think it was important, just because one, they offered, and this is their hometown,” Banchero said. “I’m sure they’re very excited to have us here, to kind of host us a little bit. You don’t get to do these things often. I’ve never been to Germany. These guys are born and raised here. So I think anytime you get to spend time with your teammates, you do it. And especially when it’s something like this where it’s kind of a special occasion for them. They talked about just how surreal it is, them having to leave Germany to play in the NBA, and now getting to come back and play an NBA game here. I know it’s really big for them and just getting to meet their parents and some of their friends was awesome.”
A ‘dream story’
Nearly one year ago, The Athletic profiled German pro basketball franchise Alba Berlin’s expansive club system and youth development program, as well as its rare, LeBron James-like involvement in Berlin’s school system. Unlike many of its chief European competitors, Alba Berlin’s top youth teams are almost entirely local, and Alba pays social workers to assist and even teach in classrooms throughout the city’s schools.
The Wagners are pure, uncut products of the Alba system. Moritz, 28, was a soccer goalie excelling in his Berlin school’s gym class when he was about 10 years old. A teacher invited him to attend an Alba-sponsored youth game, and his 6-year-old brother, Franz, tagged along. Both enrolled in Alba’s program the following year and played at every level for Alba before heading to the U.S. to play at Michigan. Moritz, and then a few years later Franz, became the youngest players to ever play for Alba Berlin’s pro team as teenagers.
So on Tuesday after the Magic’s practice, the Wagners loaded into a Mercedes sprint van for a visit to Alba Berlin’s practice facility, which was humming with activity from multiple traveling youth teams.
This was no photo op.
Both Wagners — keep in mind, Moritz just returned from ACL surgery, and Franz is trying to return from a high ankle sprain that has kept him out of the last 16 Orlando games — were on the court with Alba’s Under-12 boys’ and girls’ teams for more than an hour. They ran the children through drills, engaged in push-up contests and then spoke to them in an intimate question-and-answer session.
Neither Franz nor Moritz had to be told what they needed to do as far as practicing with the children — they literally ran the same drills Alba coaches put them through when they were 12. The director for Alba’s youth program, Marius Huth, coached both Wagners.
Huth’s message to the boys and girls in the program is, ostensibly, if you have the proper skill set and work ethic, you can literally follow in the Wagners’ footsteps. Come through Berlin schools, play for Alba, graduate to the club teams, turn pro and maybe, just maybe, the bright lights of the American game.
Having the “proof” in front of the boys and girls on Tuesday made delivering that message much easier.
“It’s like a dream story,” Huth said. “Those two guys are perfect role models. They started here, and they had the dream to become an NBA player. And I think those young kids here have the same dream too. And now they can see two people who already made it from here to the NBA. And then those two guys are so humble and down to Earth, and how they react with the kids and how (they) play with the kids, it’s just amazing.”
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are two of Orlando’s brightest stars. “Anytime you get to spend time with your teammates,” Banchero said of a dinner with Franz and his brother Moritz, “you do it.” (Rich Storry / Getty Images)
‘Franz and Moe mean the world to me’
The Wagners’ trip to the Alba facility was more personal than dinner at Borchardt. Both said they didn’t really have any past ties to the restaurant, and Moritz said, “We chose (Borchardt) because we just wanted to connect Berlin prestige with traditional German food.”
Most of the players who joined them ordered a steak (Carter chose a short rib, with a barbecue sauce, and said it was “delicious”) because, before the trip, the Magic held a “Berlin day” at the team facility where schnitzel was served. Also, in a break from the Wembanyama dinner last year, Franz Wagner said there was no wine or alcohol at the table (which is becoming more common as NBA rosters get younger).
Bane, who enjoyed a filet of beef, a potato dish and tried an oyster, said, “Franz and Moe mean the world to me, and I’m pretty sure Paolo feels the same way.”
“(Franz) was just saying, ‘Man, this is crazy that we’re over here,’” Bane said. “He said I can’t wait to go get this sandwich (a “Döner sandwich on Turkish bread with meat and dressing in the middle). I’m like, ‘Man, whatever,’ but I get it. He’s in his hometown, and he said this is the arena he had his first basketball practice ever … So being able to come back, relive some of those memories now being an NBA player and having the type of career he’s having is special.”
Franz said he thought the trip had been “contagious” for anyone who was able to get out in Berlin.
“It was great to see that not just one or two guys, but quite a few of them were really excited about the trip and about experiencing the culture a bit,” Franz said.
Spoken like a true host.
