Having played for the FC Barcelona basketball club since 2012, Hezonja now prepares to take his game overseas to the NBA. In addition to his time in Liga ACB, Hezonja also represents his native Croatia on the national team. The 20-year-old briefly played for his country in the 2014 World Cup.
Mario Hezonja
- 6.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 46.8 FG%, 40.8 3P%
- Spanish ACB League champion (2014)
ESPN's Fran Fraschilla: I’m bullish on Hezonja for sure. His effective field goal percentage on spot-up jump shots this year was 65 percent, which is outrageous. And he’s got deep range and a quick release. He was 8-for-8 in an ACB game this year, so I would say he jumps out at me right away.
ESPN's Chad Ford: He’s got a potent combination of things that NBA teams like. He’s got size for his position. He’s 6-foot-8 and can play the 2 or the 3. He’s got elite athletic ability. He’s bouncy. He jumps out of the gym. He’s quick and explosive. And he’s got a lethal 3-point shot with deep, deep range.
Those are the three things: Do you have size for your position? Check. Do you have elite athletic ability for your position? Check. Do you have at least one skill that typically translates that you can hang your hat on in the NBA? Check.
You go through this draft, and there are not that many players that you can check all three of those boxes off on. Usually we’re checking one, maybe two, of those boxes. You check all three for Hezonja. What’s the risk? I don’t think it has anything to do with him being a European. He’s playing in the second-best league in the world right now in ACB, which is better than NCAA. He’s playing on a team that made it to the ACB Finals: FC Barcelona. He’s played with pros his entire career, and he’s got minutes there.
The thing about Hezonja is he has this unusual confidence. There are players that are confident, and then there are players that are borderline crazy confident, and Hezonja’s right there. My comparison for him is J.R. Smith. J.R. Smith checked off (all three skills). It’s just that his decision-making, shot selection and decision-making off the court about what he was going to focus on and whether he was going to put this all into basketball — that was all the shaky part for J.R. Smith.
I don’t think I have any of the off-the-court issues with Hezonja. But I do have some concerns with his shot selection, his confidence and if he thinks he’s better than he is. If he’s comparing himself to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, that’s delusional, and you can get into problems when you get to the NBA if you don’t know what lane you’re in. If he understands he’s in a J.R. Smith lane … then great. If he thinks he’s Kobe or Michael Jordan, it’s going to be a rude awakening for him when he gets to the NBA.