From Berlin to the big wide world! Moritz Wagner has been playing in the NBA since 2018 and sensationally won the Basketball World Championship with Germany in 2023. But what is Germany’s basketball superstar Moritz Wagner like in private? Five facts about Moritz Wagner: his salary and contract with Orlando Magic, all the info about his girlfriend and family with his brother Franz, and why he is a fan of Werder Bremen.
1. Moritz Wagner: Background, Family, and NBA Career
Victor Moritz Wagner was born on April 26, 1997, in Berlin and grew up there with his four years younger brother, Franz Wagner. The Wagner parents are Beate Wagner, a doctor and medical journalist, and Axel Schulz, a doctor and former youth national handball player of the GDR.
Moritz Wagner initially played soccer, but his mother introduced him to basketball because she was annoyed by the constant complaints from parents of opposing teams about her son’s height. Interestingly, it was later Wagner’s mother who caused minor and major dramas in the family.
Beate Wagner believed that family vacations should not be subordinated to basketball. “I didn’t see why we should align our family time with Alba Berlin and the German Basketball Federation.
I didn’t want to miss out, and it was about my children,” Beate Wagner said in an interview. She was convinced “that it would do them good to get away from everyday life and basketball.”
Moritz Wagner Profile
- Name: Victor Moritz Wagner
- Birthday: April 26, 1997
- Place of Birth: Berlin (GER)
- Nationality: German
- Height: 2.11 m
- Marital Status: Single
- Current Club: Orlando Magic
Despite forgoing tournaments or training camps, both Wagner brothers made it to the NBA, something their mother is very happy about today. She admitted in an interview that her behavior back then was “risky” and could have “negatively impacted their sports careers.”
Moritz Wagner was drawn to the USA early on. In 2015, he moved from Alba Berlin to the University of Michigan, where he could play college basketball at the highest level. In the 2018 NBA Draft, Moritz Wagner was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers, fulfilling his dream of joining the NBA!
However, he didn’t really play for the Lakers. In the 2018/19 season, he only played for their farm team, the South Bay Lakers.A year later, he was traded to the Washington Wizards, where he was under contract for two years. In 2021, Wagner moved to the Boston Celtics, but it was only with the Orlando Magic, where he has been playing since 2021, that he finally felt at home and happy.
Perhaps this is also because he has been united with his brother Franz Wagner in Orlando since 2021. Franz Wagner was selected by the Florida team in the 2021 NBA Draft – since then, the Wagner brothers have been playing together in the NBA.
The close relationship between the brothers is also evident in the fact that they live together in a house in Orlando. They maintain close contact with their parents as well. Their mother, Beate Wagner, recently spent an entire year with her sons in Orlando
2. Wagner Book: Mother Writes Book About Her Sons
How the two Wagner brothers became international top stars in the NBA has been described by their mother in a book. The journey and what parents go through when their child shows talent and is on the way to becoming a sports star is documented by medical journalist and doctor Beate Wagner, the brothers’ mother, in her new book:
“Moritz & Franz Wagner – Glanz in ihren Augen” (“Moritz & Franz Wagner – Sparkle in Their Eyes”). Beate Wagner referred to the book as her “third baby”.
The book illustrates how Beate Wagner’s sons made it from Berlin across the Atlantic and the role she played as their mother.
3. Moritz Wagner’s Salary: What Does He Earn at Orlando Magic?
After struggling in his initial years in the NBA, Moritz Wagner has now established himself in the world’s best basketball league. At the Orlando Magic, he is one of the key players, which is also reflected in Moritz Wagner’s salary. On July 6, 2024, Moritz Wagner signed a new 2-year contract with the Orlando Magic, bringing him a total of 22 million US dollars. The contract runs until 2026. Moritz Wagner’s current salary per season is 11 million dollars. With his current salary of 11 million US dollars per year, he is in the upper mid-range at Orlando Magic. The top earner of the 2024/25 season at Magic is Jonathan Isaac, who earns about 25 million US dollars per year.
Wagner was able to significantly increase his salary over the course of his NBA career. With his first contract with Orlando, Moritz Wagner’s salary for the years 2021 and 2022 was around $1.8 million per year, while his annual salary for 2023 climbed to $8 million. Before that, Moritz Wagner’s NBA salary from 2018 to the end of the 2020 season totaled $6 million, which he earned while playing for the Lakers, the Wizards, and the Celtics.
In contrast, Wagner’s brother Franz is (still) behind him with a salary of $7 million. However, he signed a new contract in the summer of 2024, which will take effect in 2025. The new 5-year contract will bring Franz Wagner a total of $224 million, making him one of the highest-paid German athletes in history.
4. Single or Taken: Does Moritz Wagner Have a Girlfriend?
Moritz Wagner has been living in the USA since 2015, and he has long since settled into the land of opportunity. As he has gained more and more attention, interest in his private life has also grown. For many of his (female) fans, it is particularly interesting to know who Moritz Wagner’s girlfriend is.
Wagner, however, keeps his private life largely out of the public eye, so it is not known whether the basketball star currently has a woman by his side. His Instagram profile also does not provide any clues as to whether Wagner is single or taken. The 2.11m giant mainly shares glimpses of his basketball life there. There are also frequent snapshots with his brother Franz.
Nevertheless, rumors continue to swirl: in 2022, Wagner publicly wished a young woman a happy birthday on his Instagram profile. The woman in question was Nora Schiller, who, like him, grew up in Berlin. The picture has since disappeared from his Instagram account. Whether the two were ever a couple or still are is not known.
5. Werder Bremen – Superfan Moritz Wagner
Moritz Wagner was born in Berlin and has been living in the USA for several years. Despite this, his heart beats for the northern German football club Werder Bremen.
In an interview, Wagner revealed how this came to be: “When I was very young, we were at a wedding where everyone was a Werder Bremen fan, and I was conditioned that way. It was also coincidentally a time when Werder was very, very good and continued to be good for the next ten years.”
In various interviews, Moritz Wagner has appeared with a Bremen cap: “Werder Bremen has always been a part of me, I’ve always been really into it,” he says – “and this cap represents that.”
Moritz Wagner associates many childhood memories with Werder Bremen, which his younger brother Franz often mocks. Franz Wagner does not understand his brother’s fandom for Werder Bremen and believes there are much more attractive football clubs. Nevertheless, Moritz Wagner remains loyal to the Green-Whites, even though he watches less football nowadays.