Orlando Magic center Moe Wagner had to find a new way to be involved with his team during a long recovery from a torn ACL.
On Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic center Moe Wagner stepped on the floor of the Kia Center as an available member of the roster for the first time in 385 days.
What happened between Wagner tearing his left ACL on Dec. 21, 2024, to his return against the Pelicans illustrates frustration, relentless work in recovery and a changing of perspective.
Resigned to the fact he would not play for a long time, Wagner adopted a new ethos as he began viewing the game through the lens of his coaches. During his time in street clothes as a recovering onlooker, Wagner could be seen next to the coaches taking the game in. Sometimes, he would even dresslike them.
“I mean, at first, dressing like the coaches was kind of the ultimate, ‘okay, we're not going to play again this year,”’ Wagner said. “What are we going to get out of this year?’”
“So, [I] shifted the mindset. [I] view the game from a different perspective have different conversations and, out of a joke, it kind of became serious; wearing a zip -up and having these serious conversations and viewing it from a different perspective than the player.”
Once Wagner knew his long-awaited return was nearing, his mentality shifted back to being a player. Being on the sidelines and adopting a different viewpoint became valuable, and Wagner is better for it.
“Now this year, it's like, okay, I'm going to come back. The mindset shifts again to the competitive emotional mode. I was trying to win games and trying to add that perspective from the coaches’ side and the more neutral understanding view on the game and kind of mesh them together and hopefully become a better player through that.”
“So, taking advantage of the situation; which I always hate when you say that, because of course, I'd rather be out there. But yeah, it's boring when you don't do anything. So that was kind of the mindset.”
During his arduous recovery process, Wagner had the support of the entire organization behind him.
“Not only the teammates — also, the organization — but especially teammates,” he said. “Like, I think one of the biggest struggles with a process like this is that you kind of like lose track of your confidence a little bit.”
“Having guys in the locker room that care about you, that include you, that trust you to ask questions. They genuinely care even this industry relatively compared to other programs and organizations. I felt very welcomed and helped and That obviously means a great deal.”
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