Franz Wagner Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Notes: Bane, Banchero, F. Wagner, Black, Howard

October 8th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic took a major gamble by trading for Desmond Bane, but Paolo Banchero believes the high-scoring guard is exactly what Orlando needs to be a serious contender in the East, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. The team sent a lot of assets to Memphis in return, parting with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round swap. Banchero has no doubt that Bane will be worth the high price.

“It’s a great fit for who we are as a team,” he said. “He adds what we’re missing, and he also adds to what we already have. It’s like the perfect match. We don’t have anybody who can make shots like him, who can kind of leverage the way he is able to make shots, then make plays for others and get downhill and create. He’s a Swiss Army knife just as a player, as a guard. He is stronger than 99 percent of the guards in the league with how he’s built. He’s going to fit into what we do.”

Bane tells Spears that he received a Father’s Day text from Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman, along with a request to talk right away. Kleiman followed up by FaceTiming him to break the news of the trade. Even though Bane was caught by surprise after spending his first five NBA seasons in Memphis, he insists there’s “no bad blood at all” and he’s happy to be in a good situation in Orlando. He also regrets that the Grizzlies weren’t able to make a long playoff run while the foundation of the team was together.

“I feel like we never really got a chance to see what it would be like for a full season with our core and everybody healthy,” Bane said. “But you can only wait so long. In this business, you only got so many years to make something happen.”

There’s more from Orlando:

Jamahl Mosely had Jalen Suggs and Moritz Wagner serve as coaches during Wednesday’s scrimmage, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Suggs is still recovering from a left knee trochlea cartilage tear that ended his season in January, while Wagner is rehabbing a torn ACL in his left knee. Since they couldn’t participate in the scrimmage, Mosely decided to give them a different perspective. “It’s huge because it talks about communicating,” he said. “It keeps communication as the high priority. You’ve got to be able to communicate with your teammates the things that you see, what you want, the standard that we’ve set. I’ve said this before but it’s easy for coaches to say things, to put things on boards, to watch it on film … It becomes real when these guys can repeat it back to you and they can repeat the message of what they’re calling themselves to do.”
Franz Wagner sat out the first preseason contest after an active summer at EuroBasket, but he’s hoping to get back on the court in at least one of the next three games, Beede adds. “Yeah, I definitely want to play, get out there with the guys and get a couple minutes,” Wagner said. “Not that much time before the first real game.”
In a separate story, Beede examines the importance of this season for Anthony Black and Jett Howard, who will both become eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer.

Magic Notes: Richardson, Banchero, Bane, Wagner

October 5th, 2025 at 9:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Magic played their preseason opener on Saturday, picking up a 126-118 win over the Heat. While preseason action can only tell you so much, Orlando was able to get some valuable information on some of their new guys, as well as seeing their roster mainstays in action.

One of the standouts of the game was rookie guard Jase Richardson, writes Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link).

The 25th pick in the 2025 draft, Richardson came out of the gate cold and later admitted to feeling the nerves in his first real NBA action, but he quickly settled into the rhythm of the game. He finished with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-3 from three, along with four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

“There’s just a level of confidence that he possesses reading the game, recognizing what guys are doing and how they’re playing him,” said head coach Jamahl Mosley. “His speed is such a big advantage for him, but then the other side of it is we talked all the time about how inquisitive he is and how he wants to know what to do in any situation.”

While the backup point guard spot will likely be primarily manned by Tyus Jones once Jalen Suggs recovers from injury, Richardson’s ability to function as an on- or off-ball player could help him carve out a role sooner rather than later if he’s able to maintain his aggression and shooting efficiency.

We have more from the Magic:

Paolo Banchero is known as an offensive star, but his biggest impact against the Heat came on the defensive end. Beede writes that it wasn’t simply the three blocks in 13 minutes that were encouraging, but also the manner in which they came: one in isolation, another as a weak side rotation, and finally a chase-down block in transition. “That’s what it’s going to take for us to win at the highest level,” Mosely said. “If he plays with that energy and effort each and every single night defensively, it’s going to be a long night for a lot of people.”
The trade to acquire sharp-shooting guard Desmond Bane was clearly made to bring more shooting to the Magic’s offense, which has struggled with efficiency in recent years. In his first action with the team, Bane provided more than floor spacing, according to Beede, who says Orlando’s new wing also helped push the pace in transition and opened up looks for teammates with his ability to catch and attack with the ball. Beede adds that the chemistry between former teammates Bane and Jones was immediately noticeable. Given his gravity as a shooter, that ability should help generate offense for a team that, at times, got bogged down in mid-range-heavy isolation play last season.
Franz Wagner, Banchero’s co-star, missed the preseason opener, but according to Beede, this wasn’t due to an injury, but rather was an assigned rest following his run to the gold medal with Germany at EuroBasket.

Magic Notes: F. Wagner, Carter, Black, Richardson

October 2nd, 2025 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Fresh off winning a gold medal with Germany at EuroBasket 2025, Magic forward Franz Wagner is elated to have an opportunity to play an NBA game in his home country in January when Orlando faces Memphis in Berlin, as Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel writes. Wagner is also embracing loftier expectations after the Magic’s offseason trade for Desmond Bane.

“Our expectations should be higher than any of the other years,” the 6’10” forward said this week. “I mean, we added Desmond Bane [and] some other really good players to the roster. Talent-wise, mentality-wise, we should go into the year thinking like a contender — not cutting ourselves short and believing in the chance that we’ve got.”

While Wagner took a significant step forward in many respects last season, he shot below 30% from three-point range for the second year in a row after converting nearly 36% of his outside looks over his first two campaigns. He’s hoping to show his offseason work paid off entering 2025/26, according to Beede.

“I worked a lot on my three,” Wagner said about his summer. “I thought I had stretches in EuroBasket where I shot it a lot better and I think I can be more consistent with that. So, I’m super excited to show that.”

Here’s more on the Magic:

President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman recently spoke glowingly of center Wendell Carter Jr. For his part, the 26-year-old big man says he’s feeling great after a healthy offseason (story via Beede). “My confidence is at an all-time high right now,” Carter said. “I’m feeling good. When I had this summer just to train, it wasn’t necessarily about me becoming a better shooter — I know I can shoot. It wasn’t about me being able to make moves in the post like I know I can do. It was just about me boosting my confidence. Because the more you work, the more you’re on the court, you get out there and you feel like, ‘OK, I know this is going in,’ even if it doesn’t. I know it feels good. I shot a million of these shots throughout the summer.”
Guard Anthony Black feels comfortable in his third training camp with Orlando, according to Beede. The 21-year-old will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer. “When AB is on his game, in my opinion, he’s one of the best guards in this league,” Carter said. “When he’s playing carefree — not saying careless — when he’s just flowing and relying on his strengths, getting downhill, attacking the basket, shooting open threes, not turning them down, AB is a tough guard. He’s tough to guard for anybody. Anyone else would say that on this team, coaching staff included. When AB is just playing his game, he’s very hard to guard.”
After Thursday’s practice, rookie first-rounder Jase Richardson discussed the physical adjustment of going from college to playing in the NBA and what his role has been so far in training camp (Twitter video links via Beede). “Just being a guy who’s willing to guard,” the 6’3″ guard said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for me. I have to show that I can guard, especially at my size.”

Southeast Notes: Suggs, Da Silva, Sarr, Coulibaly, Hawks

September 24th, 2025 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic guard Jalen Suggs admits that the rehab process after knee surgery has made this the most difficult summer of his NBA career, but adds that he’s “feeling really good” as training camp approaches, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Suggs was limited to 35 games last season by a combination of back, quad and knee issues. He was shut down after undergoing surgery in early March and has used the offseason to get his body right again.

“A big part of getting the operation over, just cleaning it, was so that there was no looking back, there was no changing my movement patterns or anything like that,” Suggs said. “Just taking care of it the first time so when coming back when it was time to really play instinctually, which I feel like is part of what my gift is, moving and trusting those instincts, I can do it without a doubt.”

Orlando was hampered by long-term injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner as well as Suggs last season and had to go through the play-in tournament to reach the playoffs. Expectations will be much higher this year with all three stars fully healthy for camp and Desmond Bane added in an offseason trade. Suggs is optimistic that he’ll be able to hold up after a summer of conditioning.

“I’m feeling healthy, feeling strong,” he said. “The rest of my body feels amazing. I have really gotten the time to work on all of it. I think this is the best my upper body has felt in terms of look, of functional strength. … The best that my lower body is feeling. The knee is coming along, but I’m just really getting to work on minute muscles and really detailed parts about my body that have just been overlooked up to this point.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Magic forward Tristan Da Silva got to team up with his brother and bring home a gold medal at EuroBasket, Beede writes in a full story. Wagner and Orlando assistant coach Randy Gregory were also part of the unbeaten German team, and they’re hoping the experience translates to the NBA. “(Head coach Jamahl) Mosley is very intrigued by what we did and wants to learn and wants to see how he can get better off of it,” Da Silva said. “With the way Franz played over the summer, a lot of guys are going to look his way and follow his lead in terms of demeanor and the way they approach the games.”
Wizards center Alex Sarr, who suffered a right calf injury during EuroBasket, will miss the start of training camp, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. It doesn’t sound like a long-term issue, as general manager Will Dawkins told reporters that the team is “hopeful that he’ll see some time towards the end of that.” Dawkins added that Bilal Coulibaly, who underwent thumb ligament surgery earlier this month, is expected to be ready for the first or second week of the regular season (Twitter link).
Ashton Smith, who worked as a player development coach with the Hawks last season, has been promoted to an assistant coach, according to Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

EuroBasket Notes: Schröder, Nowitzki, Wagner, Spanoulis, Awards

September 15th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Dennis Schröder credited Dirk Nowitzki with inspiring the current crop of players who have turned Germany into an international basketball power, writes Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. After capturing MVP honors while leading his team to the gold medal at EuroBasket, Schröder paid tribute to the Mavericks legend, who was a German basketball icon in addition to his 21-year NBA career.

“Dirk, what he’s been doing for the German national team and what he’s done in the NBA and in the national team made us come to the national team and represent our country,” Schröder said.

Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in European history and earned a long list of honors in international competitions. Schröder is also building an impressive resume, adding the EuroBasket gold to the championship he won at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a bronze medal in the 2022 EuroBasket, but he doesn’t want to be compared to Nowitzki.

“At the end of the day, my name is Dennis Schröder, and I’m just Dennis Schröder, and that’s my legacy,” he said. “Whatever I can bring to the table to make sure my teammates are good and we compete at the highest level and win gold medals. That’s what I’m going to do. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

There’s more from EuroBasket:

German teammate Franz Wagner dedicated the championship to his brother, Moritz Wagner, who was unable to play due to an ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered with Orlando last season, per Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. Franz said his brother is “super happy” about the gold medal, and he wore Moritz’s jersey during the victory celebration as a way to include him. “Obviously, he had a tough injury, and he’s trying to get back as fast as possible,” Franz said. “Couldn’t be here, but I think everybody on the team knows that he’s part of the group. It’s part of what we’re building.”
Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis was happy to leave with the bronze, which represents the nation’s first international medal in 16 years, according to Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops. “This medal belongs to all Greeks,” Spanoulis said. “We wanted to bring basketball to the top again. This generation deserved it. Thank you very much, and I hope this medal returns basketball to the golden era.”
We covered Schröder’s MVP and the naming of the First Five on Sunday, but several other awards were also handed out. FIBA’s EuroBasket website lists Poland’s Jordan Loyd, Turkey’s Cedi Osman, Israel’s Deni Avdija, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as second-team honorees. In addition, Germany’s Isaac Bonga was named Best Defensive Player, Finland’s Miikka Muurinen received the Rising Star award and Turkey’s Ergin Ataman was recognized as Best Coach. Full standings for all 24 tournament teams have also been released.

Warriors Made New Offer To Jonathan Kuminga, But Stalemate Continues

September 15th, 2025 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors made a new contract offer to restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga last week, hoping to end the standoff that has prevented them from completing other offseason moves, sources tell Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN.

Golden State’s latest proposal is a three-year, $75.2MM deal with a team option in the third season, according to the authors’ sources. It includes $48.3MM in guaranteed money over the first two years, which Slater and Charania point out is nearly equal to the annual salary that restricted free agent Josh Giddey received last week in his new contract with Chicago. They add that the major difference is that Giddey received four guaranteed years with no options on either side, while Kuminga would most likely be a trade asset under his next contract rather than part of the team’s long-term future.

The offer is an increase from the two-year, $45MM contract that was presented to Kuminga and his representatives earlier this summer. That deal also included a team option on the final season and a demand that Kuminga waive his inherent no-trade clause.

The authors describe the Warriors’ insistence on those provisions, even in the new proposal, as a “major part” of the prolonged standoff. Their sources say Golden State’s only offer without a team option was for $54MM over three years, which brings the annual salary down to $18MM.

Kuminga has been requesting a player option to give him more control over his future, sources tell Slater and Charania. He and agent Aaron Turner have been willing to accept a yearly salary in the $20MM range as a tradeoff, but they believe agreeing to a team option should bring Kuminga’s salary up to about $30MM per year. The Warriors consider a player option to be a “nonstarter,” according to the authors.

The latest proposal from Kuminga and his agent is described as a “souped-up version” of Golden State’s qualifying offer, which is also still on the table. Kuminga would receive more money than the $8MM QO that was tendered in late June, but it would be a one-year deal that makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer and allows the Warriors to shop him as an expiring contract heading into the trade deadline. It also creates the possibility that Kuminga could spend another full season with the team and start negotiations fresh next offseason.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. turned down that idea, the authors state, as owner Joe Lacob is reportedly unwilling to accept any deal that puts the Warriors at risk of losing Kuminga next summer while getting nothing in return.

Lacob has been a strong believer in Kuminga ever since he advocated drafting him ahead of Franz Wagner in 2021, according to the authors. Sources tell them that Lacob refused to part with Kuminga in a proposed trade with Chicago for Alex Caruso two years ago, and he remained a vocal supporter even when the forward was removed from Steve Kerr‘s rotation last season. But sources tell the authors that Lacob has never intervened with Kerr on Kuminga’s behalf and has allowed the coach to make his own decisions about who gets on the court.

Kerr has indicated that Kuminga would see ample playing time this season if he opts to re-sign, according to Slater and Charania’s sources. However, Kuminga’s camp has pointed to comments that Kerr made during the playoffs — stating that Kuminga isn’t a natural fit alongside Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler — and they suggest that staying with Golden State might not be the best move for Kuminga’s career.

Before the Warriors shut down the idea of a sign-and-trade, they received offers from the Suns (who intended to pay Kuminga about $80-88MM over four years) and Kings (three years at $63-66MM), who were both willing to give him a player option and make him their starting power forward.

However, the Warriors weren’t satisfied with the return in the proposed deals, which reportedly would have brought Royce O’Neale and second-round draft compensation from Phoenix or Malik Monk and a protected first-rounder from Sacramento.

With training camp starting in two weeks, the authors state that Kuminga’s best hope is for Lacob to intervene, either to give him the financial compensation that he wants or ease his pathway to another team. The Warriors have several moves on hold that can’t be completed until the Kuminga situation is resolved, so a final decision will have to be made soon.

Germany Defeats Turkey For EuroBasket Gold; Schröder Named MVP

September 14th, 2025 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

A back-and-forth battle between a pair of 8-0 teams went down to the wire in Sunday’s EuroBasket championship game, with Kings point guard Dennis Schröder helping to secure a gold medal for Germany by scoring the final six points and turning an 83-82 deficit into an 88-83 victory over Turkey.

Schöder (16 points, 12 assists), former NBA wing Isaac Bonga (20 points, 4-of-4 three-pointers), and Magic forward Franz Wagner (18 points, eight rebounds) were the standout performers for Germany, which has won two of the past three major international basketball competitions.

Although the Germans didn’t make the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer, the country is now the defending FIBA World Cup (2023) and EuroBasket (2025) champion and has posted a 21-2 record in those three tournaments, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Germany outlasted a Turkish national team that was led by Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28 points), former NBA forward Cedi Osman (23 points, 6-of-9 on three-pointers), former NBA guard Shane Larkin (13 points, nine assists, six rebounds), and Sixers big man Adem Bona (12 points, 5-of-5 shooting).

While they weren’t able to claim their first EuroBasket championship, Turkey matched their best-ever result by taking silver. The Turkish team lost to Yugoslavia in the 2001 final, which was the only other time the country made the championship game.

Schröder was named the EuroBasket Most Valuable Player after leading the Germans to their first title in the event since 1993. He scored at least 16 points in all nine games, averaging 20.3 points and 7.2 assists per contest.

The 2025 EuroBasket All-Star Five was made up entirely of NBA players, with Lakers guard Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) joining Schröder, Wagner, and Sengun (Twitter link).

Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team beat Finland in the third-place game earlier on Sunday.

Germany Into EuroBasket Final With Win Over Finland

September 12th, 2025 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Germany will compete in the gold medal game at EuroBasket for the first time since 2005 after defeating Finland by a score of 98-86 in the first of the tournament’s semifinals on Friday.

Germany piled up 61 first-half points and withstood a third-quarter surge from the Finnish team to hang onto its lead. A trio of NBA players were the team’s top scorers, with Dennis Schröder leading the way. The Kings point guard totaled 26 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds, and was a +22 in his 31-plus minutes on the court.

Franz Wagner (22 points, five rebounds) and Tristan Da Silva (13 points, four rebounds) of the Magic also played key roles for the Germans, who got contributions from former NBA players like Daniel Theis (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Isaac Bonga (10 points, five rebounds) as well.

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was Finland’s star player over the course of the tournament but struggled to make an impact on Friday. Although he scored 16 points, Markkanen needed 17 field goal attempts to earn those points and was a -24 in 28 minutes of action.

It will still be a historic finish for Finland, which made the EuroBasket final four for the first time ever. Markkanen and the Finnish team will compete in the third-place game on Sunday in the hopes of claiming a bronze medal.

As for Germany, EuroBasket 2025 represents the latest deep run for a national team that has been one of the world’s best in recent years. The Germans finished third at EuroBasket 2022, won the 2023 World Cup, and placed fourth at the 2024 Olympics.

Greece and Turkey will square off this afternoon for the right to face Germany in Sunday’s final, with the loser taking on Finland in the third-place game.

EuroBasket Notes: Osman, Wagner, Doncic, Loyd

September 11th, 2025 at 12:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA forward Cedi Osman has been a key part of Turkey’s run to the EuroBasket semifinals, ranking second on the team in points per game (14.9) and third in minutes (26.8) and plus/minus (+14.0) while converting 51.2% of his three-pointers (5.9 attempts per contest).

However, Osman sustained an ankle injury in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Poland. While he returned to that game, he was seen limping off the team bus on Thursday (Twitter video link) and was unable to practice (story via BasketNews).

Head coach Ergin Ataman told Turkish media the 30-year-old will likely be a game-time decision for Friday’s matchup against Greece, as Semih Tuna of Eurohoops relays.

“Their biggest concern was a stress fracture. That’s what it looked like. Thankfully, he avoided a stress fracture,” explained Ataman, “He has bone swelling in that area, preventing him from putting any weight on his foot. He wanted to return to the court in this condition. He will play under any circumstances, but we do not know how effective he can be.

“... We will make a decision based on possible progress,” Ataman continued. “Cedi definitely wants to play, but his injury is serious. He has some time until Friday night, so I hope he can make progress. If the game were (Wednesday or Thursday), he surely would not be able to play.”

Here are a few more notes related to EuroBasket 2025:

Germany used a second-half comeback to defeat Slovenia and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals. After the game, German national team and Magic star Franz Wagner said he didn’t notice a difference playing against the slimmed-down Doncic, who set a quarterfinal record by scoring 39 points (he also had 10 rebounds and seven assists). “He’s like that all the time, so I see no difference really,” Wagner said, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “Extremely good player. If he got a little bit better, he might have, but it’s tough to tell with him.”
Doncic was exasperated with the officiating after the loss, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. “Four fouls at the start of the third quarter—never in my life,” Doncic said. “And a technical two minutes in… that shouldn’t happen in a quarterfinal.” While Doncic said he was “100 percent angry,” he was pleased with Slovenia’s performance at the tournament. “We gave our all. This wasn’t the result we wanted, but our run deserves respect.”
Veteran guard Jordan Loyd, who won a championship while on a two-way deal with Toronto in 2019, had an excellent EuroBasket showing with Poland, averaging a team-high 22.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals on .490/.422/.875 shooting in seven games (32.0 MPG). NBA insider Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that several EuroLeague teams — most prominently Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid — are pursuing Loyd, who has spent the last three seasons with AS Monaco. Aris Barkas of Eurohoops says Loyd is still under contract with Monaco and the club would have to release him to sign with another team. According to Nacho Duque of Spanish outlet Marca, Loyd has a tentative deal in place with Real Madrid, but there are several complicating factors, including that his Spanish league rights are currently held by Valencia, which could theoretically match any contract he signs.

Germany Tops Slovenia To Round Out EuroBasket’s Final Four

September 10th, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Germany overcame a second-half deficit and another scoring outburst by Luka Doncic to defeat Slovenia for a spot in the EuroBasket semifinals, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. Wednesday’s 99-91 victory preserves the Germans’ chances to capture another major international title after winning the FIBA World Cup in 2023.

Germany trailed by seven points late in the third quarter, but Tristan Da Silva sank a shot from mid-court at the buzzer to cut Slovenia’s lead to 74-70. That was the beginning of a 10-0 run that saw the German team take control of the game.

Franz Wagner led Germany with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Dennis Schröder contributed 20 points and seven assists. Former NBA center Daniel Theis added 15 points and nine rebounds. Maodo Lo scored 11 points and Andreas Obst had 10, as both players knocked down clutch three-pointers late in the game to preserve Germany’s lead.

Doncic, who has been posting historic performances throughout the tournament, set another record today with 39 points, the most anyone has ever scored in a EuroBasket quarterfinal contest. Despite picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, Doncic also finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists to narrowly miss another triple-double.

After the game, Slovenian players voiced complaints about the officiating, with center Alen Omic telling reporters that Doncic doesn’t get the respect he deserves, per Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews. Omic also pointed to the free throw disparity, with Germany getting 37 shots from the foul line compared to Slovenia’s 25.

“Our best player in EuroBasket is not protected the way he needs to be,” Omic said. “He got three fouls in 10–15 minutes of the game. What is this? He’s the best player of the tournament. Everybody comes to watch him.”

Doncic also commented on the officials in a post-game interview with Slovenia’s Sport TV, relays Semih Tuna of Eurohoops.

“First, I got a technical foul, two minutes into a game, for yelling ‘hello’, but OK,” Doncic said. “In a quarterfinal, that shouldn’t happen, no matter what kind of player you are. If you don’t even get a warning first, then I don’t know. But it’s a quarterfinal, fighting for a semifinal, so I really don’t know how they did that.”

The semifinal games will take place Friday at Arena Riga in Latvia, with Germany facing Finland in the opener, followed by a clash between Greece and Turkey. The tournament will conclude Sunday with the gold medal game and the third-place game.

FIBA has ranked the four quarterfinal losers, with Lithuania finishing fifth, followed by Poland, Slovenia and Georgia.