In the last few drafts, the Orlando Magic have selected Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton with their Lottery picks. This year, they selected Mario Hezonja with their only first round pick. The first three young men mentioned are all regarded as defensive stalwarts who struggle to shoot. Hezonja is almost the polar opposite. The Croatian’s defense should be passable but his offense is, without a doubt, his calling card.
Mario Hezonja is not a household name because he’s spent his entire pro career in the ACB League, but he is now taking his talents to the NBA and it comes with Magic pinstripes. In fact, he can’t take his talents to Orlando yet because his respective team, FC Barcelona, is still playing. This may cause the newest member of the Orlando Magic to miss the Summer League—where the organization will filed two teams. Rob Hennigan had the talent to swing for the fences with this pick and this guy could certainly be a home run. DraftExpress’ analysis of Hezonja is as follows: “A capable ball handler, Hezonja also flashes the ability to create his own shot, notably as the ball handler in the pick and roll. His ability to explode past the defense with his strong first step off the dribble make him a threat to get to the rim, and he has a bit of shake to his floor game as well, showing the ability to use step backs to create space for his jump shots. Making 42% of his pull-up jump shots and finishing at a 62% clip around the rim, Hezonja's scored efficiently in a variety of ways this season.”
Many NBA scouts and experts have likened Hezonja to JR Smith with his incredible scoring ability and athleticism. But JR Smith isn’t exactly a comparison that makes fans jump for joy. Like Smith, Hezonja can be a bit of a head case. However, Hezonja’s confidence could be a great addition to a team full of high-character guys. In five years, Hezonja could be regarded as the best player in this Draft. I think this is a great pick for an up-and-coming-team.
