The Cleveland Cavaliers are taking a gamble on Mario Hezonja. The 6’7” forward hasn’t played an NBA game in six years, but signed a $2.4 million deal with Cleveland in July.
Naturally, expectations are low for a player who has been out of the league for so long. His first stint in the NBA didn’t go particularly well. It’s normal for anyone to feel skeptical that growth overseas will automatically translate to the most competitive basketball league in the world.
Hezonja is doing everything he can to
dismiss that notion.
Hezonja has been on fire recently, representing Croatia in the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament. He turned heads with a 37-point performance, including a step-back three-pointer to give his team the lead after trailing by two points with under 10 seconds to play.
That type of confident shot-making wasn’t seen during his time in the NBA.
Hezonja struggled to score efficiently during his time in the league. Since then, he’s developed into a capable three-point shooter who can catch-and-shoot or create for himself off the dribble. He’s comfortable letting it fly from deep behind the line and can do it with or without his feet fully set beneath him.
The three-point shot is often seen as the x-factor for unpolished prospects. Unlocking a consistent jumper can open up the rest of someone’s game. Hezonja has seemingly cracked this code, shooting near 40% from downtown throughout his recent years in the EuroLeague.
There is no guarantee this will follow him to America. Hezonja hasn’t been so elite at shooting that you should feel confident he can do it under any circumstances. But balling out to this degree on the FIBA stage is as close as you can get to simulating an NBA environment.
Moreover, Hezonja’s improved shooting has given him room for the rest of his game to shine.
Hezonja scored 28 points in a separate win over Latvia during the FIBA tournament. He shot 8-8 from inside the two-point range, putting his head down and relentlessly attacking the basket in transition.
Hezonja has good size and physicality to his game. He can carve out space by using his body and being more aggressive than his defender. That’s a strong skill to fallback on whenever the three-point shot isn’t falling.
On the surface, Hezonja is a sizebale wing who can nail three-pointers and get to the basket. All of those match well with the type of offense that Kenny Atkinson likes to run. Hezonja should be landing in the perfect enivroment to thrive.
Some unanswerable questions remain. Can Hezonja look this confident against NBA-level defenders? Can he keep up with the pace of this same league that left him behind six years ago?
We won’t know until he takes the floor in October. But Cleveland has the opportunity to bail on Hezonja’s contract before it becomes fully gaurneteed in mid-November. That means the clock is ticking, and Hezonja will have to make his impact felt quickly in order to stick around.
