The 2018-19 season was miserable for the New York Knicks. They finished with the worst record in the NBA at 17-65.
That rough year was also the only season Mario Hezonja spent on the team. Selected fifth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, Hezonja was looking to redeem his value after being seen as a draft bust during his three years with Orlando.
That didn’t happen. After many years playing overseas, Hezonja is back in the NBA this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks will see their former player on Saturday, and so far this season, he’s playing a much larger role than anticipated.
Hezonja playing surprisingly large role for Cavs
After his one year with New York, Hezonja played the following season with the Portland Trail Blazers. The 6-foot-8 forward then spent six years playing overseas before heading to Cleveland.
Now 31, Hezonja is firmly in the rotation of a Cavs team that reached the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals. He’s appeared in all eight games this year and is averaging 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 19.6 minutes. Hezonja has reached double figures in scoring his last two outings and three of the last four (Cleveland plays the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday).
Hezonja is a reminder of how far the Knicks have come
Knicks fans—especially those who stuck with them during the dark days—will see Hezonja and be reminded of how far the franchise has come. New York wasn’t good the year after Hezonja left either, going 21-45.
Hezonja had two memorable moments in an otherwise unmemorable season for the team. One was blocking a LeBron James game-winning attempt to secure a rare Knicks win. The other was a huge Hezonja slam against the Milwaukee Bucks, where he stepped over Giannis Antetokounmpo after the dunk.
In 58 games with the Knicks, Hezonja averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 20.8 minutes. He dropped 30 points in a three-point win over the Washington Wizards late in the 2018-19 season.
The year with Hezonja had draft bust Kevin Knox averaging 28.8 minutes per game. Noah Vonleh made 57 starts. The ‘Frank Hive’ wanted Frank Ntilikina to play more in what was his second season, in which he shot 33.7% from the field. Mitchell Robinson was one of the few bright spots, bringing a lot of intrigue to the fanbase in his rookie year after being selected in the second round.
So, yes, the Knicks won a title seven years after that miserable season under David Fizdale. While fans may not have loved the wait, it's hard to argue that suffering through years like 2018-19 didn't make the 2025-26 championship year feel so much sweeter.
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