Hezonja returned to Europe after a 5-year NBA experience in Orlando, New York, and Portland. He didn’t experience any rivalries between teams there. But rivalries there were different. “In the NBA, you want to kill everyone. You have to be selfish there. You play against everybody, literally. Everybody is your enemy,” Hezonja smiles. “Here [in Europe], there’s much more pressure for the teams. Every team wants to win. EuroLeague is the best competition here, so these games mean a lot. But I think obviously the biggest rivalry we ever saw, and we’ll ever see, is PAO and Olympiacos,” Hezonja assured. “For sure. It’s not even close.”
Mario Hezonja Rumors
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Mario Hezonja
Position: -
Born: 02/25/95
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:201 lbs. / 91.2 kg.
Earnings: $21,943,796 ($26,311,082*)
Born: 02/25/95
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:201 lbs. / 91.2 kg.
Earnings: $21,943,796 ($26,311,082*)
Hezonja was also asked about the differences he had found at Real Madrid. “Madrid is very different. Everyone in the club is on the same page with the sole objective of winning. The football organization, residence, and facilities – it’s something I’ve never seen, not even in the NBA,” the 27-year-old pointed out.
21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and 34 PIR. These were Marc Gasol’s numbers in his first Spanish ACB League game in 14 years but his performance wasn’t enough to prevent Girona’s loss to Real Madrid. Mario Hezonja scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Real Madrid tipped off the 2022-23 season and its quest to defend the title with a 94 – 88 road win over newcomer Girona.
The official Croatian roster for the upcoming Eurobasket will be the following: 1 Toni Perkovic 3 Jaleen Devon Smith 4 Roko Prkacin 7 Krunoslav Simon 8 Mario Hezonja 9 Dario Saric 10 Lovro Gnjidic 17 Karlo Matkovic 27 Ivan Ramljak 30 Dominik Mavra 40 Ivica Zubac 44 Bojan Bogdanovic
Real Madrid and Mario Hezonja have come to a final agreement. The intense rumor that had developed in the previous period about the EuroLeague finalists targeting the Croatian forward is close to being officialized.
Hezonja may have refuted any negotiations with the Spanish team as he’s still playing with his current team, UNICS Kazan, but -according to gazzetta.gr- his deal with Madrid is done. Per the report, the two sides have already put their signature on the contract, which is valid for two years until 2024.
