Former Knicks player puts NBA on blast in recent interview

Was it the New York Knicks that turned Mario Hezonja off to the idea of the NBA? The Croatian entered the league with Orlando as the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2015. The forward spent three years with the Magic before making his way to the Knicks in free agency.

In 2018-19, he averaged 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 58 games (24 starts) with New York. He shot 42.2% from the field and 30.8% from the 3-point line. At the end of the season, Hezonja became a free agent again and moved out West after signing with Portland.

In his final year in the league, he averaged 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 53 games. That season, Hezonja made his lone playoff appearance in his five-year career, but it was cut short with a first-round Blazers exit to LeBron James and the Lakers in the bubble. After that, he was traded to Memphis and then waived.

Once that happened, Hezonja went overseas to continue his professional career. Currently, the wing plays for UNICS Kazan of the VTB United League.

The 27-year-old recently spoke with Tatar-inform, a Russian outlet, and expressed his disdain for the NBA and the time that he spent playing in the league.

Former New York Knicks forward Mario Hezonja calls out the NBA.

Hezonja had high stakes as a lottery pick, but he bounced around to three teams in five seasons. A potential return to the NBA could be in the cards. However, he’s ruled that out. Hezonja said:

"“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.”"

Unfortunately, his NBA career didn’t pan out the way that he hoped that it would, but it’s interesting that he feels as if he wasn’t respected.

If only Hezonja’s career would’ve started a few years later because then he would’ve been able to join an Orlando team that’s on the rise. At the age of 20, he believes that his stint in the NBA began at the right time.

Knicks fans can agree that the best team that the wing played for was the Trail Blazers alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Those two appear to be all business, so it would’ve been insightful for Hezonja to elaborate on what he means about the league being more of a show.

Hezonja has some good memories from his career in the United States, with the best one being when he blocked James’ attempt at a game-winning shot during his tenure in New York. His dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo is a close second.

It seems as if Hezonja feels like he didn’t get a fair shot, but that can be argued. Throughout 330 games, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds and shot 41.7% from the floor. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page.

Maybe he’s still bitter about being waived by the Grizzlies, especially given their recent rise. Memphis is the epitome of what a successful rebuild looks like, but that hasn’t included Hezonja.

Nonetheless, it seems like he enjoyed his time with the Knicks, so maybe he was directing his negative comments towards the other two teams that he played for.

Although the forward holds ill feelings towards the NBA, his epic block will forever be remembered by New York fans.

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