Mario Hezonja criticizes Orlando Magic, reveals why he came to Greece / News - Basketnews.com

Mario Hezonja lacked ambition in the Magic organization and admitted that his offseason workouts were much better than what he experienced during the regular season in the NBA. He thinks his decision to come to Panathinaikos was the best he's made as a basketball player because it helped him fall in love with basketball again.

Credit: Sonia Canada/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Europe Credit Sonia Canada/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Europe

Mario Hezonja spent five seasons in the NBA after getting drafted 5th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. He's now in his third year in Europe, and he couldn't be happier, he says.

Mario Hezonja

MIN:18.34PTS:9.86 (56.89%)REB:2.62As:1.14ST:0.43BL:0.19TO:1.48GM:21ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

The first three seasons in the strongest basketball league were spent with Orlando Magic. Hezonja is clear - he didn't like it there at all.

"I didn't like the management of the club," Hezonja told in an interview with Ricardo Gonzalez from Diario AS. "We couldn't win the NBA, it's clear, but we could have been more ambitious, have set bigger goals, see who was the best to play, try to get where we hadn't reached in previous years."

"There was a lack of ambition. I'm not a player of 40 shots or the one who does entertainment on the bench," the player explained. "I am a basketball player, I like victories. It wasn't all bad but my summers there were better than my seasons."

Following the 2019-20 season, Hezonja decided to take a break. More than halfway into the season, the Croatian forward signed with Panathinaikos Athens.

"The decision to go to Panathinaikos is the best of my life as an athlete. At the end of the [2019-20] season, I went home and told everyone that I was not going to play anymore," the player said. "For the first time, I spent two months without touching a ball, [I was] just in the gym. And at the beginning of November, I started practicing again and my sensations were as if I hadn't stopped for a single day."

"I realized that the head, the mental factor, is as important as the physical [condition] or the shot[s you shoot]. I fell in love with basketball again," Hezonja revealed. "Panathinaikos were interested, I asked, the offer came, and I went to Athens. I started to feel basketball again, to love it, to help my teammates, to feel important, to win."

Hezonja is clear - he likes to win, and that's why he came to Real Madrid during the offseason.

"Madrid took an interest in me, they had already done so the year before when I went to Panathinaikos. I always liked the club as an organization, a place where not just anyone can play and where, once you arrive, you see that it works like a family, and I like that chemistry. The people in Madrid are very clear about what they want, which is to win, the same thing I am after titles," Hezonja concluded.

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