It seems that the policy of next man up: next available, forward. As soon as the sign of ‘heroes wanted‘, candidates appear. Resources. At the crucial moment of the season, the white team received a seemingly lethal blow to their inside rotation: Gabriel Deck’s serious knee injury, Yabusele’s suspension and the physical problems that Poirier has had. And everything, facing the last game of the dramatic series of quarters against Partizan and, once he got the ticket, to the Final Four in Kaunas.
But Chus Mateo had options. A few minutes from Eli Ndiaye, at 18, a bit from Anthony Randolph after his terrible situation with injuries… and Mario Hezonja, who played more than 33 minutes against Barcelona and finished with 14 points and, what seemed much more important, 9 rebounds. In total, a PIR of 18 and a +13 in his minutes on court. Already in the series against Partizán he had taken his average minutes much further than in the regular season: more than 26 for less than 19. The Croatian averaged 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and a PIR of 10 in the five games . In the final he finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds. A great effort, once again, in more than 34 minutes on the track on the key day.
Hezonja has stepped up when it was most needed. And he has shown that he is a very different player from the one that made him stand out as one of the great promises of European basketball. Less scorer, less individualistic and with less need for leadership. And more supportive, hardworking and focused. His work in defense against Mirotic, the rebounds, the physical effort in the zones… vital work in the semifinal victory that places him as a mature and different player but still capable of having tremendous scoring streaks. Without Deck occupying spaces in the high post and without a Yabusele less focused on defense, Hezonja has adapted to a position, that of power forward, which due to his physique (2.03 and 110 kilos) he can occupy. And in which he opens the field optimally with his outside shot, which gives Tavares more space to operate in attack.
At 28 years old, it seems that Hezonja has been playing lifetime. He won the junior Euroleague eleven years ago (the ANGT that Real Madrid just won in Kaunas) with Zagreb and alongside Dario Saric. That summer (2012) he signed with Barça for three expandable seasons. As a blaugrana, he was chosen Emerging Star (rising star) of LEB Oro with the subsidiary, and it was later taking steps in the first team at the hands of a Xavi Pascual with whom it ended up being rumored that he had not had a good relationship, who ended up having very serious communication problems. The Dubrovnik coach has denied it, he also made it clear in an interview for AS that he had not had any trouble with the man from Gavá: “Things always went very well with him, he helped me a lot, he talked to me as much as he could and I never stopped learning . A great coach with a lot of authority at the club and that suited me well”.
At Barça he left flashes of super class without, still very young, continuity. In a match against Manresa (February 2015) he signed an 8/8 in triples. In the 2014-15 Euroleague he averaged 7.7 points and 2 rebounds. But later, before completely breaking into a star with Barça, he made the leap to the NBA. He did not appear in the draft in 2014, he did in 2015. And he was number 5, a pick very high at a time when the franchises were looking for their great European coup. Also Orlando Magic, who took him.
Since the NBA, Hezonja continued to play as a Barcelona player. When asked on Twitter if he would play for Real Madrid, he gave an answer that later, a few months ago, disappeared from his official account: “Lol, Barça forever, friend!”. That changed later. When he had to return, Barça had his rights in Europe, with a price of 400,000 euros for his freedom. First, and after an agreement with Barça, he played for Panathinaikos. When a few months later he did not renew, in the summer of 2021 there was speculation about a return to the Palau that did not take place. In Barcelona they were looking for a forward… but with a different profile, so they relinquished the rights of a player who went to UNICS, and he played at his best competitive level (14.2 points and 6 rebounds) for a team that was the sensation of the Euroleague until the Russian clubs were expelled by the Ukrainian war. His next destination, last summer, was Real Madrid, where he has arrived at an ideal time (he has turned 28) to contribute as a solid player on the track and already veteran in the dressing room.
His physique and his talent gave, a priori, to have thought about a long NBA career. But he had no luck either at the Orlando Magic, where he was part of a rebuilding franchise and played for very defensive coaches like Frank Vogel (later champion with the Lakers), or at the Knicks or the Blazers. In New York, where he landed on a one-year, $6.5 million deal after the Magic opted out of him, he had at least his moment: a block to LeBron James to decide a victory for his team. And, in the following weeks, a triple double (16+16+11 against the Rockets) and a 30-point game against the Wizards.
In the aforementioned interview with AS, last February, he made it clear that He was not happy in his experience in the US: “I had to change agents, they changed coaches… And I didn’t like the management of the club (in Orlando). We couldn’t win the NBA, it’s clear, but we could have been more ambitious, have set ourselves higher goals, see who was the best to play, try to get where we hadn’t reached in previous years… There was a lack of ambition. I’m not a 40 shot player or do a entertainment on the bench, to do gili…, I am a basketball player, of victories. It wasn’t all bad, but my summers there were better than my seasons and that can’t be.”
Now he is happy again. In Europe… and at Real Madrid: “In this team, it’s all a matter of the collective. We communicate all the time, we all row in the same direction. That is what makes Real Madrid special, what sets us apart from other teams in the world. To win the Euroleague we have played five elimination games in a row and we have won them all. But that’s what it’s all about at Real Madrid. It is not a question of statistics. I’m happy with the decision I made in summer. Everyone should see the fire in the eyes of the locker room veterans. The hunger they continue to have to win titles. I have learned a lot from them.”
One of those veterans is Sergio Llull, who scored a decisive basket that Mario Hezonja also wanted to shoot… but which he gladly gave up to the Menorcan: “It was crazy because I was supposed to block him and I started telling him ‘come on, come on, I’m here‘. But in a second I realized who he is and what he does. And that there’s a reason he’s a legend. So we opened up the track, we went to the corners and we let him do his magic for him. He’s a legend for a reason. It’s amazing to see it. Now I thank God that he is on my team ”.
