By John DentonOct. 27, 2015
ORLANDO – Raising his hands as if he’s about to hoist another one of those quick-trigger, high-arching 3-pointers, Orlando Magic rookie Mario Hezonja demonstrated his understanding of the NBA on the eve of his first regular-season game.
“Summer league is here, preseason is here and then the regular season and playoffs and everything are the top level,” said Hezonja, using his hands to illustrate the hierarchy of the different levels of play and intensity in the NBA.
Hezonja might be just 20 years old and yet to play in a regular-season game, but he clearly understands many of the things that he needs to do to have a successful rookie season with the Magic. In eight preseason games, Hezonja displayed the confidence of a seasoned veteran with the way he ran pick-and-roll plays in traffic and confidently drilled 3-point shots in high-leverage situations. Now, with him about to make his official NBA debut on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards at the Amway Center, Hezonja feels he’s prepared for what’s ahead for him.
“The dream is to be here, man. The season is starting, so it’s a special feeling,” Hezonja said. “Butterflies … maybe when I know I am going in to step on the court. But nervous? Never, not at all. I had a lot of butterflies before (turning pro when he was living in his native Croatia), but now you love it too much and you can’t wait. So no stress, just normal.”
Orlando excitedly snagged the 6-foot-8, 218-pound Hezonja with the No. 5 pick of the NBA Draft last June. And he’s lived up to his advanced billing thus far by bringing a swagger to the Magic with his confident outside shooting, the ease with which he handles the ball and his ability to finish at the rim with his explosive athleticism.
In eight preseason games, the guard/forward averaged 10 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in almost 22 minutes a game. As to be expected with someone still getting used to living in a new country and adjusting to new teammates, Hezonja seemed to get better as the preseason wore on. He had 19 points, four 3-pointers and a pick-and-roll masterpiece of a pass late in the overtime defeat of New Orleans. And he closed the preseason last Friday with six points, seven rebounds and four assists in another Magic win against Memphis.
Because he is so close to many of his teammates in age, Hezonja has been highly complimentary of the players in helping him adjust to life in the NBA. Also, Hezonja has been aided by Magic veterans Nikola Vucevic (Montenegro) and Evan Fournier (France) – two players who are quite familiar with making the adjustment to living in America, playing in the NBA and speaking English. The three of them have their dressing stalls close to one another in the Magic locker room and they have dubbed their area, “The European Corner.”
Getting help from teammates wasn’t always the case over the last three years when Hezonja played professionally in Spain before making the leap to the NBA. So far, he’s been able to get lots of advice from others on the Magic and he recently went to second-year players Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon to talk with them about the differences between playing in the NBA’s preseason and the regular season.
“I ask them. They’ve been through this last year and I asked them how to approach certain types of things and they answer right back,” Hezonja said. “They’re really close to me, I’m really close to them and we talk a lot about basketball.”
And when those on the Magic can’t answer Hezonja’s questions he usually gets advice from his parents, who are back in his native Dubrovnik, Croatia. They are planning to watch Wednesday’s first game on the NBA’s League Pass service, television access that Hezonja said, “pretty much the whole city (of Dubrovnik) has it now” because of his ascent to the NBA.
“Advice from parents is always what’s best for you because they are the closest ones,” said Hezonja, who admitted his parents proved especially helpful when he struggled some early in training camp and the preseason. “Before I was going crazy and I was mad (about) everything, but now they see me improve a lot, first of all mentally. My father is more basketball and my mother is more (about being a) mental person. My father wants me to jump over everyone. It’s all useful stuff.”
