Mario Hezonja (born 25 February 1995) is a Croatian professional basketball player who plays for Barcelona of the ACB League. He also represents the Croatian national basketball team internationally. Standing at 6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m), he primarily plays at the shooting guard position, but he can also play the small forward position.

Hezonja started playing basketball at the age of 13 in Dubrovnik where he stayed for two seasons. After finishing primary school, in 2010, Hezonja signed a contract with the Croatian club Zagreb. In 2011, he won the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament with Zagreb. He was named the All-Tournament team, alongside with then teammate Dario Šarić. He skipped the 2011–2012 season because of the broken arm and mononucleosis.

Barcelona

In July 2012, Hezonja signed a three-year contract with the Spanish club Barcelona.[1] He also has an option to extend for additional four years with the club. His former club Zagreb also got 150,000 euros in the name of buyout, as he was still under contract. For the 2012–13 season, he was loaned to the reserve team of the club: Barcelona B of the LEB Oro, Spanish second division. At the end of 2012, he was nominated for the FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year Award,[2] but Jonas Valančiūnas eventually won the award.

Hezonja played in the Euroleague for the first time in 2012–13 season. He appeared in only 2 games, averaging 2.5 points and 2 rebounds per game. In 2013, Hezonja was invited to be a part of the world team at the Nike Hoop Summit, but couldn't attend because of injury. In 2013–14 season he became more constant part of the Barcelona's first team rotation, although playing very limited minutes.

Starting with the 2014–15 season, Hezonja's role in the team increased, from playing only in the garbage time in the previous season to around 15 minutes per game on constant basis. On February 1, 2015, he hit 8 from 8 from the 3-point line in a 101–53 Barcelona's win against La Bruixa d'Or Manresa, becoming the Spanish League MVP for the week 19.[3] Barcelona finished the participation in the Euroleague after quarterfinal series loss to Olympiacos. Over 22 Euroleague games played, Hezonja averaged 7.7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist per game.

On April 23, 2015, he declared himself eligible for the 2015 NBA Draft as an international "early-entrant", only day after the Barcelona's elimination in the Euroleague.[4] Some Spanish and Croatian media saw this move as a player's response to poor communication with Barcelona's head coach Xavi Pascual throughout the last few months.[5] More specifically, the tension between the two could be seen in Pascual's decision to leave Hezonja on the bench in three Euroleague games, on March 5, against Panathinaikos, on March 25 against Žalgiris and in the crucial Game 4 of the quarterfinal series against Olympiacos on March 23.

Croatian national team
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 3 steals.[8] Over the tournament, he averaged 20 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

He was part of the senior Croatian national basketball team at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Position Shooting guard / Small forward
League ACB
Euroleague
Born 25 February 1995 (age 20)
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Nationality Croatian
Listed height 6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m)
Listed weight 218 lb (99 kg)
2012–present Barcelona
2012–2013 → Barcelona B
FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship MVP (2011)
LEB Oro Rising Star (2013)

2015 NBA draft

Oklahoma City Thunder
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