Mario Hezonja Slams NBA, Vows Never To Return

Former top NBA draft pick Mario Hezonja won’t be back in the league.

After being drafted fifth overall by the Orlando Magic in 2015, Hezonja never quite panned out. And following last season, he moved his talents overseas, signing with the Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. Now, he’s lashing out against his NBA experience.

“No,” he said on seeking a potential return to the NBA, “There was a lot I didn’t like there.”

Mario Hezonja blasts the NBA and vows to never return

“I am not going to return to the NBA. I didn’t get the respect I deserved. Also, in my opinion, the NBA is more a show than the game itself.”

(h/t @Eurohoopsnet ) pic.twitter.com/ny7E0kjEAB

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 13, 2022

Mario Hezonja played 335 games in the NBA with the Magic, Knicks, and Trail Blazers. He averaged just 6.9 points over the course of his career in the states.

“I am not going to return to the NBA,” he repeated, “I didn’t get the respect I deserved. Also, in my opinion, the NBA is more a show than the game itself.”

Despite feeling a bunch of animosity towards the NBA, Mario Hezonja insists that the experience was all that bad towards shaping his body for a professional career elsewhere.

“I learned to take better care of my body. I created myself as a player,” he added, “Everything that happened led me to become who I am today.”

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