[Breaking] Mario Hezonja is leaving Real Madrid and going to the NBA
https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1992755/mario-hezonja-is-leaving-real-madrid-and-going-to-the-nba/
Hezonja informed Real M. that he will use his NBA-out for around 850.000$ and returns back to NBA after 6yrs
What team are you guessing?
His agent told him about the all white Lakers
he’s not white enough, since he’s dalmatian
His reputation is pretty spotty
He has that dawg in him still.
Sure but there are 100 others just like him.
What a Cruella joke
I thought he was Super Italian
There are people who would argue that.
We can safely cross breed him with Bronny, he doesnt have a dominant genes in him
he is from dubrovnik, to be precise.
It’s Snowtime baby!
showtime was also snowtime, but it was a different kind of snow
It’s a me, Showatime Mariooo!
Mostly African American Celtics and Mostly White Lakers is a stark contrast from the hay days.
Eh not really. The Russell Celtics had the most Black players in the league at the time, and broke unofficial custom staffing more than 1 Black player. KC Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Russell. Other teams soon followed, but even in the 62 finals, Celtics had 4 or 5 Black players to the Lakers three (Elgin Baylor, Ray Felix, Tommy Hawkins)
African American
Larry’s not white, Larry’s clear.
Mario only shows up to slay superstars, not play alongside them.
White Lakers, white bunnies, Hezonja found his place in the west.
Real using that 850k for the 223M Olise deal
Just as the dictator wanted
You thought only Barca has levers? Think again
Well, but only Barca has 100 levers ready at anytime. Real Madrid thinks levers is their ally, modern Barca was born in it, molded by it.
That Spotify money coming in clutch
Lmao didn’t expect to see this here
it’s 223 now?
223m would break Neymar’s 222m record deal so op used this number. Bayern are still holding out
Does the NBA know?
Shoulda informed the league he is entering the free agent pool like LiAngelo Ball did.
https://sports.yahoo.com/liangelo-ball-not-signed-g-league-contract-reportedly-telling-teams-like-one-213330935.html
Beat me by a minute
Finally I can turn my NBA notifications off and rest
Will always love Mario for sonning LeBron and Giannis 😂
yep. i remember someone said if you only showed Hezonja highlights from that one Knicks season to someone who just woke up from a 30 year coma, they would think he was the best player in the entire sport. he had so many highlights that year (and tons of lowlights).
A shittier version of giroud of basketball
Every once in a while he was a good basketball player
many are saying the schedule will not be set until mario hezonja picks a team
Wasn’t this guy like a top-5 pick ~10 years ago?
I was so fucking high on Super Mario in that draft. He was a late riser, which generally goes well
I thought him and Dario were going to lead Croatia to some real international success.
yeah, and then team crashed pretty bad.
They are currently very competitive team, Croatia had a really bad period in their domestic league and national basketball association for last 15 years.
Things are looking much brighter now, Hezonja, Šarić, Zubac could lead this team far in next competition.
Was he the one who dumked over a Honda Civic?
Damn, calling giannis a Honda civic is just mean.
Right. Dude is at least a CRV.
that’s ridiculous. a honda civic is one of the most spectacular pieces of machinery you can get your hands on. if it was an insult to be called a honda civic, then why would Hector be running three honda civics with spoon engines, and on top of that, he just went into Harry’s and bought three T66 turbos with nos, and a motec exhaust system
I also live my life a quarter mile at a time
He had hops for sure. The dunk on Giannis and the step-over was WILD.
I still don’t get how that’s considered a dunk on Giannis when Giannis was behind him.
That’s a Giannis problem. Mario doesn’t have to worry about that.
Giannis did foul the shit out of him though
Should’ve been an And1
Dunk on Marquese Chriss was crazy, too
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PNRx369wRGk
dunk over marquese chriss is still one of nastiest i’ve seen
Is Civic Croatian too?
I was high on him too. 6’6 scoring wing who liked to attack the rim. At least that was the scouting report
Hezonja will own ya
Then traded for a horse
It did horse things, though
Game of zones please come back. We need you
Had that full neck tear. Still out indefinitely. Really derailed a promising career.
Deep cut right there
To be fair… It did horse things.
Hezonja to the Nuggets confirmed
Nikola Jokic liked this
There was also a season where he got highlight plays against Giannis and LeBron.
Stood over LeBron after a game winning block on him lol
Basically the only highlight of the 2018-19 Knicks
Edit: He stared LeBron down after. He stood over Giannis after he dunked on him earlier that season, got those two confused. Super Mario!
That roster gave me depression
Mitchell Robinson more than deserved his ring this season after remaining with the Knicks despite suffering on the 2018–19 Knicks.
Up there for worst Knicks teams of all time
I had no hope going into the season and we were still worse than I expected
14-15 was worse. At least the 18-19 Knicks were young
He did not stand over him? Aren’t you confusing it with the dunk on Antetokounmpo?
Yes I am! Too many Super Mario highlights from a 17-65 season to remember
He did stare LeBron down after
Oh, my bad, I thought you said “stood over” not “stared down”. For me, those are two different things. But yeah, he stared him down. :)
That time when Mario Hezonja became the greatest player of all-time. #nba #nyknicks #newyorkknicks - YouTube
Yes, I’m saying I misremembered the two
His block on LeBron was one of the only bright spots of that season.
Knicks legend for those couple plays alone (iirc the rest of the season was canceled)
Yeah some stupid team made that mistake. Who could’ve done such a thing?
I mean it was the 2015 NBA Draft. Realistically any of the options at your pick were going to be a bust
Would you have rather had the players that were picked after him: Willie Cauley-Stein or Mudiay?
Even if you look at the next 3 picks after that it’s Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky and Justise Winslow
I thought Justice Winslow was going to be so fucking good. Lmao
There was a stretch where he was starting to put everything together and then he went down with injuries.
Never the same again.
he had multiple stretches like that to some degree, poor guy. i still believe in point winslow
Point Winslow was putting up 15/8/8 at one point. That was so close to working before injuries.
I remember thinking the same coming into the 2015 Draft, only for my Pistons to take Stanley Johnson over Winslow and Booker 😢
You aren’t the only one. We had a period where we played him as a PG and if you squinted your eyes you could see the beginnings of an excellent playmaker in the body of a wing with all-nba level defense.
Then the shoulder injury, his wrist was always hurt and then, on top of that, he had back issues and concussion(s?).
I thought he would be what Jaysom Tatum has become
Danny Ainge thought so too
And memeing aside, Pat Riley did too. So there was something there.
Devin Booker was there for the taking. But no draft experts were rating him that high out of college, if I remember correctly.
Devin Booker was there for the taking
Absolutely not. As you said yourself, Booker at #5 was absolutely not an option at all back when the 2015 Draft actually happened. Anybody who was already following the NBA back then knows that
Using hindsight logic 10 years down the line for the NBA Draft never works
With that logic Jokic should have been the #1 pick of the 2014 Draft too, but that was not in any way realistic in 2014
Thank you for repeating exactly what I said but in a way that makes me look like a moron.
My bad brother I didn’t mean it like that 😭
Too many people on r/NBA use hindsight logic (or genuinely don’t know so they just google the Draft), so I wanted to make it clear
LMAOAOAOOA
I recall seeing some rumors that Booker knows the Magic ownership and wanted to go there? That might have been cope from our fans, though. (I saw this years after he was drafted, don’t recall if it was a rumor during the actual draft process)
What was in the water that year?
You think that’s bad? I was there to witness the 2013 NBA Draft
I watched it live too. It was legitimately super interesting because no one had an actual idea who was going to get picked next. Like this draft most people had the top 10 completely figured out.
Generationally bad string of busts from picks 5-10 of that draft… especially shocking considering I didn’t think any of the picks except for Kaminsky were actually bad prospects at the time.
I was super high on Mario and Winslow
WCS at 6 had the fatal flaw of “doesn’t actually like basketball” that really worked against him
Frank was looking solid in Phoenix til he got hurt
Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja were prototype Paolo and Franz
Its ROUGH being a Magic fan. Smh. I’m out of state too, I did it to myself 🙃
And then some (formerly) stupid team in NYC signed him and got to experience the “super” Mario experience. Narrator: he was not good and didn’t understand his role
This past season, across all competitions, Real Madrid had Mario Hezonja (#5, 2015), Alex Len (#5, 2013), Trey Lyles (#12, 2015), Facu Campazzo (undrafted), Bruno Fernando (#34, 2019), Theo Maledon (#34, 2020), Omer Yurtseven (undrafted), Usman Garuba, (#23, 2021), and four other guys who were bench riders, two-ways, exhibitions, and/or G-Leaguers. Scouts are rarely totally wrong about a player, they just have to hope the player reaches the potential their tools give them.
Lakers found their vet. No more Reaves being the unc of the group
I mean, he was traded for a horse
I remember when him dunking on giannis was big for me and my Knicks
Dark times
Something something dark something happy
iirc he had 2 points in a 2 point win
game winning dunk
And that game winning block on LeBron lol
Hezonja returning to the NBA after all this time like Odysseus.
So who’s Penelope?
I’m guessing the Nuggets
the Denver EuroBaskets
might as well at this point, the roster is beyond scuffed otherwise
My bet is Timberwolves. This feels like a Tim Connelly move, and they desperately need a PF
Pivoting from LeBron to the LeBron Stopper. Smart.
Very unlikely. Wolves don’t need one more ball-dominant player who does not play defense on the bench, they already have Bones and TSJ. Also, he won’t be given a guaranteed role on the team, I doubt he would leave Real for being 10th-11th man on the Wolves. I think it’s Denver since they have a lot of roster spots open and not much shot creation off the bench.
Bones is not good.
Just wondering if u come to this conclusion from his last stint on NBA or his last couple season on RM?
Sure but we already have 5 PFs
He’s going to dunk Giannis again
he gonna block lebron again or do some crazy tomahawk highlight dunk.
Wherever LeBron goes
Game winning block one more time
Still waiting for the Jan Vesely return.
He just retired a couple of weeks ago :)
So you’re saying there’s a chance….
I heard he actually did well in Europe
Dude transformed himself into 78% FT shooter from 40% in NBA
Floppy haired cardio man?
the return
Tisse just left, so why not 🤷♂️
Of the king-slayer
Was he any good in Europe?
Spanish league MVP this season, won the EuroLeague with Real as one of their best players, 4 national championships, 2nd team All-Euroleague 2 years ago. He also took more responsibilities in the national team recently. I’d say he’s matured a lot and found a role on the court which was always his number 1 issue.
His number one issue was always having to be number one on the court. I remember in the u16 finals he shot 2-17 or something similar on 3s. The guy had confidence of MJ as a teenager
Kobe*
MJ only goes 2-17 on three point contest
Yep
Yep he’s a legit star over there. He can definitely play in the NBA.
very good. big attitude too. had aura and a great jumper and size. he’ll make more money in the NBA but will not be playing much.
I dont think he will actually make more money in the nba. Euroleague contracts are getting pretty good and the numbers you read are after tax. Hezonja would very easily find a contract in the 3-4 mil a year range this summer in Europe. I dont see any team giving him more than the minimum.
He has matured a lot in Europe the last couple of years. From the games I’ve seen him play, he takes it a lot slower than he used to in the NBA; that was his biggest problem back then (not knowing what to do at what moment). He just makes the right decision (much) more often nowadays.
He always had the hoops and the confidence, but this part of his play has really aged well/matured.
Has been one of the best players in Euro(league)ball last couple of seasons.
We’ll take the horse
Had to scroll way too far to see this.
Bunch of kids on this sub now
Thought I was having my own Mandela moment
first he gets the game winning block on lebron and now he takes all his free agency hype
cruel
disappointed I had to scroll so far to find this image lmao
Breaking 😭
Lakers or Heat
Teams that consider themselves formidable but need depth on the wing could consider him. The Sixers, Celtics, Lakers, Heat, Magic, and Rockets could all give some thought. I have no idea how well he would play coming back though.
Nuggets have unreliable Gordon and Bagley.
I’m guessing Timberwolves. They desperately need a PF
the celtics don’t really need wing depth, they’ve got tatum, pg, baylor, hauser, walsh, and ron harper jr
He is going to sign a 10 year supermax contract with the Sacramento Kings
Had to have a promise from a team.
The LeBron stopper returns.
*Portland Trail Blazers great Mario Hezonja.
You gotta admit he was fun as hell to watch on that team. You honestly never knew what to expect, but it was gonna be spectacular, good or bad.
Worst player Ive seen in a Blazers jersey in recent history, genuinely preferred Blevins over him
Come play for our lovable Serbian coach
Knicks legend
It’s probably the Nuggets. They have a shit bench
NBA can finally do the schedule.
Didnt he criticize nba as more of a popularity contest than an actual league
contender team
He’s gonna come back and play for Denver to have a crazy poster AND block on Wemby to complete his trifecta of highlights on generational players.
his block on Bron was a great moment for me as a hater
Watch it be us
Is this a threat?
This guy was won multiple MVPs in my 2k15 mycareer
Real using that money to go get rodri
Probably Lakers.
Why?
playing next to Mbappe and Vinicius was the perfect situation for him though
The breaking news we were all waiting for.
Consolidation prize for a team that misses out of the LeBron sweepstakes?
Super Mario returns
join the euro mavs baby
Holy shit he’s already 31?
Oh wait, so am I.
the first player that I just irrationally believed in.
Croatian Kobe is hell of a drug. Still a believer.
[deleted]
Bro he averaged like 16ppg in Euroleague this season and won Spanish ACB League MVP (Best domestic basketball league in Europe) Hes deffo NBA ready..
Does any team want a 31-year-old who had a less-than-notable NBA career when he was younger?
I mean if he would be smarter, he would be valuable piece of rotation.
Saw him IRL playing, not so smart, still surely NBA bench player tho
the idea of hezonja is actually pretty decent and not like he been sitting on his couch the whole time. he definitely got the physical tools and his highlight reel would make you think hes awesome.
He probably already has an agreement with a team, he wouldn’t buy out his RM contract, this late in free agency, unless he already had a deal in place
Miami
Whatever year this dude played for the magic in NBA2k that was my guy
Warriors, nobody else is desperate enough.
OKC please
The return
Hes coming back here as our secret weapon against Giannis
Dodgers
Return of the king
The goat is back
a bust..
He averaged almost 18p 5r for Real Madrid, but I don’t see that exciting too many NBA GMs.
Forget the averages.
He’s matured, he’s grown, he’s a defense-first team player.
He will be a legitimate asset to whatever team gets him. A solid starter on a shit team, a solid contributor off the bench on a playoff team.
Not a world beater, but I believe he’s a genuine NBA player now who can contribute in the playoffs.
Congrats to the Orlando Magic on acquiring Liga ACB MVP Mario Hezonja!