Mario Hezonja ranks top European rivalries, reacts to infamous Barcelona shush / News - Basketnews.com

Real Madrid star Mario Hezonja picks Panathinaikos and Olympiacos rivalry by far the best in Europe.

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

Mario Hezonja couldn't script a more emotional start of the new EuroLeague season.

Mario Hezonja

MIN:17.67PTS:8 (50%)REB:3As:0ST:0BL:1TO:0GM:1ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

He made his EuroLeague debut with Real jersey in OAKA last week. The gym, where he once said he'll never come to play as an opponent of his beloved Panathinaikos.

For Round 2, the EuroLeague scheduled a trip to Barcelona. Once home for Hezonja before entering the NBA as the 5th pick of the 2015 draft.

According to Spanish media, in 2018, he tweeted "Barca forever" when was asked by a fan if he would ever play for Real Madrid.

"No, I said this about PAO," Hezonja interrupted on the eve of the EuroLeague 'El Clasico'.

When he left Panathinaikos for UNICS in 2021, he declared he wouldn't return to OAKA as Panathinaikos' opponent.

He did it the following EuroLeague season with UNICS and was booed by some PAO fans.

"And I really meant that. I really wanted it to be like this," Hezonja spoke in an interview with BasketNews.

"But when you're a player, you can't really... I mean, I can, but I shouldn't have been so honest because, at the end of the day, it all gets back to you in a situation like this."

"I had all my best intentions. I was doing a reset mentally, physically, basketball-wise, and personally also. And Panathinaikos was a great situation for me. I loved it there. I wanted to play there and stay there. But everything I said turned out like I was the problem. It's completely opposite," Hezonja laughed.

"I said this for PAO, but it ended up contrary, against me. Yes,I didn't want to come to OAKA with other teams. That was my sincere intention. I really stepped out with the emotions, and I really meant that because I wanted to stay. But it ended up stabbing me," Hezonja concluded.

Mario Hezonja

Team:Real MadridPosition:SFAge:27Height:202 cmWeight:91 kgBirth place:Dubrovnik, CroatiaProfileNewsStatistics

Real Madrid visits Barcelona on Thursday.

Spanish basketball fans already had a taste of El Classico. The archrivals clashed in the Supercopa final in September.

Hezonja went scoreless that night but celebrated the trophy after an overtime win 89-83.

Thursday's EuroLeague game will be Hezonja's first in Palau Blaugrana after a transfer to Madrid.

What reception does he expect from Cules?

"I don't know, man. You go everywhere with the same intentions. You want to win as many games as possible and fight for every trophy. Even in the same club, you can expect the best and worst things. But it doesn't really touch me, and it never bothered me," Hezonja revealed.

"Contrary, I really like those crowds. It gets you going. You don't even have to warm up when it's like that," a 27-year-old forward smiled.

Hezonja recently witnessed how hostile Barcelona fans might get. Isaiah Canaan infamously shushed the Palau Blaugrana in one of the most iconic games of the 2021-22 season.

Hezonja shared his feelings on Canaan's gesture.

"Coaches use it against you because you're destroying the team's chemistry. People might think you're disrespectful. Refs might give you a technical. All these kinds of things," he commented.

"But that was unfortunate... I don't like they treat players as if they disrespect something. I liked his gesture. I liked it at the moment of the game. The crowd was loud all game, and we were leading by 20..." Hezonja continued.

"But for a player, it was a bad situation because we ended up losing, so it's a big problem. But what can I say? He was my teammate, I love that guy, and I have nothing against that gesture," Hezonja concluded.

His new teammate Dzanan Musa got T'd up after making the identical gesture following a clutch shot in the Spanish league opener in Girona.

Musa instantly apologized for his move in front of Girona's crowd.

"Musa was very fussed," Hezonja reacted to the call.

"Last year, Lamonica gave me technical against Red Star. When I come as Croatian to Red Star, you know it's going to be crazy for both sides," he smiled.

"I like it. I love those crowds. I watch games on TV when they play because I love to see those crowds everywhere. But people take it as disrespect. Referees give you technical as if it disrespects the game. I can't say I fully agree with it, but it is what it is."

Rivalries have blown out of proportion in some countries.

For example, Red Star fans and the club management agreed not to sign ex-Partizan Serbian players anymore. The foreign players would be examined case by case.

"Maybe I can understand Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Red Star, Partizan. Maybe even teams in Turkey. But in general, we're having many cases when players go whenever they feel better," Hezonja responded on such an extreme case in Red Star.

"But I can understand it and agree with our most extreme cases. I can understand because I was there, so I know how it is," Hezonja smiled.

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."

Asked by BasketNews to rank the three rivalries he experienced (Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos, Real vs. Barcelona, and any rivalry he had in the NBA), Hezonja went for all European rivalries.

"Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos goes first. And then ten rows nobody," Hezonja laughed.

"Then it would be Partizan vs. Red Star," Hezonja continued.

"Okay, they really started to pack Efes gym, where they have a pretty nice atmosphere. But based on rivalry and the craziest atmosphere, I put Fenerbahce vs. Galatasaray third," Hezonja concluded.

What makes the 'El Clasico' unique?

"I would say the crowd is much more peaceful," Hezonja smiled.

"But the atmosphere is very loud. People speak about it weeks ahead. In Spain, it all comes from football. It's like going to church. When Real play Barca, it's like a holiday," Hezonja illustrated.

"It's a very special feeling. But it's much more peaceful. However, the atmosphere is always nice."

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