Mario Hezonja (; born 25 February 1995) is a Croatian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, ...

and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Croatian national team internationally. He was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

Junior career

Hezonja was promoted to the club level in his native Croatia when he was 12 years old, and at the age of 13, he stayed for two seasons with

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

. In 2010, Hezonja signed a contract with Croatian club

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. In 2011, he won the

Nike International Junior Tournament The Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament is an international boy's youth age basketball tournament that is contested between the best basketball clubs in Europe in the Under-18 age category. The tournament is organized by Euroleague B ...

with Zagreb. He was also named to the All-Tournament team, alongside teammate

Dario Šarić Dario Šarić (; born 8 April 1994) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He also represents the senior ...

. He was forced to sit out the 2011–12 season because of

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

Professional career

AENK (2012–2015)

In July 2012, Hezonja signed a three-year contract with Spanish club

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, at the age of 17. He also had an option to extend his contract for an additional four years with the club. His former club, Zagreb, also got €150,000 in the name of a buyout, as he was still under contract. For the 2012–13 season, he was loaned to the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

of the club:

Barcelona B Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

of the LEB Oro, the Spanish second tier level division. In 2012, Hezonja was nominated for the FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year Award, but

Jonas Valančiūnas Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 ...

eventually won the award. Mario Hezonja1 (cropped)

Hezonja played in the EuroLeague for the first time, in the 2012–13 season. He appeared in only 2 games, averaging 2.5 points and 2 rebounds per game. During the EuroLeague's 2013–14 season, Hezonja played very limited minutes. Starting with the 2014–15 season, Hezonja's role in the team increased, from playing only during the garbage time in the previous season, to around 15 minutes per game. On 1 February 2015, Hezonja hit 8-of-8 from the three-point line in a 2014–15 Spanish League season game, in a 101–53 Barcelona win, against La Bruixa d'Or Manresa, becoming the Spanish League MVP for the week 19 of the season. Barcelona finished their participation in the 2014–15 EuroLeague season, after a quarterfinal series loss to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a numbe ...

. Over 22 EuroLeague games played, Hezonja averaged 7.7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. On 23 April 2015, Hezonja declared himself eligible for the 2015 NBA draft, as an international "early-entrant", just days after Barcelona's elimination in the EuroLeague. He had been identified as a potential lottery pick early in his career, and surprised some by opting not to declare for the draft in 2014, his first year of eligibility. Some Spanish and Croatian media saw this move as the player's response to poor communication throughout the final few months with Barcelona's head coach Xavi Pascual; Pascal denied any problems in communication. Barcelona eventually finished the season losing in the final series of the 2015 Spanish League playoffs, after a 3–0 series loss to

Orlando Magic (2015–2018)

On 25 June 2015, Hezonja was selected with the fifth overall pick by the

in the 2015 NBA draft. On 10 July 2015, he signed a rookie scale contract with the Magic. ;2015–16 season He made his debut for the Magic in the team's season-opening loss to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

on 28 October 2015, recording 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench. On 31 January 2016, he scored a then season-high 17 points in a 119–114 win over the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. On 28 February 2016, he made his first career NBA start and dunked four seconds into the game, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes of action in a 130–116 win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

. On 2 March 2016, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 102–89 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

. On 11 April 2016, he set career highs with seven assists and five steals while scoring 19 points in a 107–98 win over the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

. The Magic finished the season with 35–47 record, missing the

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. Hezonja finished the season making 79 appearances with the averages of 6.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists on 43.3 field goal percentage. ;2016–17 season Under new head coach Frank Vogel, Hezonja saw minutes reduction, mainly due to his mediocre defense. On 28 October 2016, Hezonja scored 13 points in a 108–82 loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. He tied that season high on 4 April 2017, registering another 13-point effort in a 122–102 loss to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

. In the Magic's season finale on 12 April 2017, Hezonja grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in a 113–109 win over Detroit. Although his defense improved towards the end of the season, his shooting numbers waned. In general, his sophomore season was underwhelming, and with reduced minutes his game averages dropped to just 4.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game on 35.5 field goal percentage. The Magic finished the season with 29–53 record, missing the

. ;2017–18 season On 31 October 2017, Hezonja's fourth-year option was not picked up by the Magic. After seeing very little action in the beginning of the 2017–18 season, he made first start of the season against the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

on 9 December and scored 7 points. On 13 December in a game against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, he scored a season-high 17 points and had nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. On 17 December, Hezonja scored a career-high 28 points and had six rebounds and two assists, while shooting 8 from 12 from the three-point line, in a 114–110 loss to the

New York Knicks (2018–2019)

On 6 July 2018, Hezonja signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020)

On 3 July 2019, Hezonja signed a two-year, $3.7 million deal with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. On 20 November 2020, Hezonja was traded to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

in a three-team trade involving Enes Kanter Freedom. On 11 December, the Grizzlies waived him.

Panathinaikos (2021)

On 22 February 2021, Panathinaikos signed Hezonja for the remainder of 2020–21 season. There was an option on his contract for an additional year (until June 30, 2022), with a buy-out clause from

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

estimated around 400.000€. Enes Kanter, Hezonja's Turkish teammate on the

allegedly played a vital part in his transfer to the Greek powerhouse, having also expressed his sympathies towards both Panathinaikos and the country of Greece in the past.

UNICS (2021–2022)

On 31 July 2021, Hezonja signed with the Russian team

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 20 ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

, and of the EuroLeague until it was suspended due to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

. On 26 January 2022, he was named a

VTB United League All-Star The VTB United League All-Star Game is a yearly event that includes an exhibition game in which the best players of the VTB United League play against each other. The inaugural event was organised for the first time on February 11, 2017, during th ...

, as part of the World Stars team.

Real Madrid (2022–present)

On 21 July 2022, Hezonja joined reigning Spanish champions

on a two-year deal.

National team career

Hezonja was named Most Valuable Player of the

2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 25th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. 16 teams featured in the competition, which was held in the Czech Republic, from July 28 to August 7. Croatia won the title for the third time ...

, after leading his team with a double-double in the final, 21 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Over the tournament, he averaged 20 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He was named to the All-Tournament Team of the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. Hezonja was part of the senior Croatian national team that participated at the

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

. He also represented Croatia at the

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 ...

, where they were eliminated in the eighth finals by the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Over six tournament games, he averaged 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 41.2% shooting from the field. He represented Croatia at the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, where they finished in 5th place.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 79 , , 9 , , 17.9 , , .433 , , .349 , , .907 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 2 , , 14.8 , , .355 , , .299 , , .800 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 30 , , 22.1 , , .442 , , .337 , , .819 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 58 , , 24 , , 20.8 , , .412 , , .276 , , .763 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 53 , , 4 , , 16.4 , , .422 , , .308 , , .814 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .7 , , .2 , , 4.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 330 , , 69 , , 18.5 , , .417 , , .319 , , .812 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, align="left" , Portland , 5 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .409 , , .286 , , .750 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 4.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .409 , , .286 , , .750 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 4.6

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .333 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Barcelona , 14 , , 1 , , 6.1 , , .429 , , .250 , , .750 , , .5 , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.6 , , .9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Barcelona , 22 , , 2 , , 16.5 , , .462 , , .382 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.7 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 8 , , 6 , , 22.4 , , .414 , , .366 , , .842 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 14.4 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", UNICS , 25 , , 23 , , 29.4 , , .447 , , .346 , , .800 , , 6.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 14.2 , , 14.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 71 , , 32 , , 19.4 , , .444 , , .361 , , .833 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , 9.4 , , 8.6

Career achievement and honors

Club honors

;Junior club honors *

(2011) * Ciutat de L'Hospitalet Tournament (2013) ;Senior club honors * Spanish League champion: (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

) * Greek League champion: (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

) * Greek Cup winner: (

)

Individual

: MVP * 2011 Nike International Junior Tournament: All-Tournament Team * Sportske novosti award for Fair Play (2011) * 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Cup: All-Tournament Team * 2013 Torneo de L'Hospitalet: All-Tournament Team * LEB Oro Rising Star (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

)

References

External links

*
Mario Hezonja
at acb.com
Mario Hezonja
at euroleague.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hezonja, Mario 1995 births Living people 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Dubrovnik BC UNICS players Croatian men's basketball players Croatian expatriate basketball people in Greece Croatian expatriate basketball people in Russia Croatian expatriate basketball people in Spain Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States FC Barcelona Bàsquet players FC Barcelona Bàsquet B players Liga ACB players National Basketball Association players from Croatia New York Knicks players Olympic basketball players of Croatia Orlando Magic draft picks Orlando Magic players Panathinaikos B.C. players Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) Real Madrid Baloncesto players Small forwards