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Mario Hezonja Slams NBA, Vows Never To Return

Former top draft pick, Mario Hezonja slammed the league and everything it stands for when vowing that he will never return

New York Knicks forward Mario Hezonja reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

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 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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