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 (appro ...

player for

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of the Spanish

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and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He also represents the Croatian national team in international competition. 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

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

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. 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. In 2011, he won the Nike International Junior Tournament 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 Denver Nuggets 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.

Professional career

Barcelona (2012–2015)

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

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

of the club, Barcelona B 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 eventually won the award. Hezonja played in the

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 sports, garbage time is the period toward the end of a timed sports competition that has become a Blowout (sports), blowout and the outcome has effectively already been decided. Typically during garbage time, the coaches of one or both teams wi ...

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 week 19 of the season. Barcelona finished their participation in the 2014–15 EuroLeague season, after a quarterfinal series loss to Olympiacos. 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. 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, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

. 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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. 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 eithe ...

. 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

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 the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

, he scored a season-high 17 points and had nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. On 17 December, Hezonja scored a then-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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. On 17 March 2019, he made a game-winning block against

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

in a 124–123 win over the

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

. Hezonja recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals alongside the block. On 5 April, he recorded his first career triple-double, logging 16 points, 16 rebounds and eleven assists in a 96–120 loss to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. Two days later, Hezonja scored a career-high 30 points, alongside six rebounds, five assists and two steals, in a 113–110 win over the

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 Northwest Division (N ...

. 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 Southwest Division of the ...

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

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 known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

estimated around €400,000. Enes Kanter Freedom, 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 of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

, and of the

until it was suspended due to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. On 26 January 2022, he was named a VTB United League All-Star, 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. He won the EuroLeague in 2023 and was runner-up in 2024. On 2 July 2024, Hezonja signed a five-year contract extension with the Spanish powerhouse. In September 2024, he was sidelined for an unspecified amount of time after getting ill and losing weight as a result. On October 2, he had resumed practices but was still questionable on returning to action.

National team career

Hezonja was named Most Valuable Player of the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, 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. He also represented Croatia at the EuroBasket 2015, where they were eliminated in the eighth finals by the

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

. 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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, where they finished in 5th place.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 79 , , 9 , , 17.9 , , .433 , , .349 , , .907 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 65 , , 2 , , 14.8 , , .355 , , .299 , , .800 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 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 , 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 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, 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;" rowspan="3",

, 2 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .333 , , , , .500 , , 2.0 , , , , .5 , , , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 14 , , 1 , , 6.1 , , .429 , , .250 , , .750 , , .5 , , .2 , , , , , , 1.6 , , 0.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 22 , , 2 , , 16.5 , , .462 , , .382 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.7 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 8 , , 6 , , 22.6 , , .415 , , .366 , , .842 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 14.4 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", UNICS , 25 , , 23 , , 29.6 , , .447 , , .349 , , .778 , , 6.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 14.2 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

, 39 , , 12 , , 20.5 , , .466 , , .433 , , .758 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 10.6 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 38 , , 17 , , 23.3 , , .475 , , .431 , , .921 , , 4.6 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 13.5 , , 13.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 148 , , 61 , , 20.8 , , .459 , , .402 , , .818 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , 10.8 , , 9.9

Career achievement and honors

Club honors

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

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) * Greek League champion (

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

) *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

winner (

)

Individual

* 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship:

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

* 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 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

)

Personal life

Hezonja's uncle died fighting for the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

References

External links

*
Mario Hezonja
at acb.com
Mario Hezonja
at euroleague.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hezonja, Mario 1995 births Living people 21st-century Croatian sportsmen 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 NBA players from Croatia New York Knicks players Olympic basketball players for Croatia Orlando Magic draft picks Orlando Magic players Panathinaikos B.C. players Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards Real Madrid Baloncesto players Small forwards