Mario Hezonja’s summer has turned into one of the wildest stories of the European basketball offseason. Every few days, his future seems to take another dramatic turn, with suspense continuing to build. SKWEEK takes a chronological look at the entire saga involving Real Madrid, Dubai BC, Anadolu Efes, Olympiacos, the NBA and several unexpected developments.
No one questions the Croatian small forward’s talent. Hezonja is widely considered one of the Top 10 players in the EuroLeague, and his market value only seems to keep rising. Last season, “Super Mario” averaged 13.3 points (52.1% on two-pointers, 30.6% from three and 80.5% from the free-throw line), along with 4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a PIR of 12.4, helping Real Madrid reach the EuroLeague Final Four championship game at the T-Center.
Everything he is capable of doing on the court has already been demonstrated throughout a decorated career in both Europe—highlighted by winning the EuroLeague title in 2023—and the United States, where he spent five seasons in the NBA. Every championship contender knows that adding Hezonja significantly improves its chances of going all the way. That was also Real Madrid’s belief when the club handed him a five-year contract extension in the summer of 2024.
With a deal running through 2029, Los Blancos wanted to make Hezonja one of the pillars of the franchise at Movistar Arena and build both around and with him. However, after four seasons in the Spanish capital (2022-2026), the Croatian has reportedly decided that the time has come for a new chapter in his career.
A major development came when Hezonja changed representation and teamed up with one of the most influential agents in international basketball, Misko Raznatovic. The move surprised many around European basketball, as most expected the Croatian to enjoy a quiet summer given his long-term commitment to Real Madrid.
However, the situation began to change before the season had even ended. Serbian media were the first to report that Dubai BC was trying to lure him to the United Arab Emirates. Shortly afterward, Greek media claimed that Hezonja himself had begun opening communication channels with reigning EuroLeague champion Olympiacos. The story was first revealed on UpTempo by Amerikanos24 and immediately attracted widespread attention. At the same time, the NBA remained a very realistic option and appeared to be the destination the player truly preferred.
Back in April, Raznatovic had already hinted at the developments that are now unfolding.
“As for Hezonja, everything is open. He has a contract with Real Madrid for a few more years, but he has an NBA-out clause. As you know, he has already played there, but he was younger at the time. Right now, he is one of the most dominant players in the EuroLeague, and players like Nigel Hayes-Davis, Vasilije Micic and Sasha Vezenkov have all received NBA opportunities in recent years. I certainly wouldn’t rule out him returning to the NBA. These decisions usually come later because teams wait until after the Draft before making their moves, so we can’t draw conclusions yet. The chances are real and much higher than many basketball fans probably believe.”
Those comments made it clear to Real Madrid that the player would eventually try to leave the club.
At the beginning of July, Hezonja himself addressed the speculation.
“I still don’t know because, right now, I’m a Real Madrid player,” the veteran forward said, attempting to calm the rumors.
The deeper reporters dug into the story, however, the more intriguing the details became.
The key issue was that Hezonja’s contract included only an NBA-out clause worth $850,000. Simply put, he could only leave Madrid for the world’s premier basketball league. There was no mechanism allowing him to terminate his contract in order to become a free agent or sign directly with another EuroLeague club.
Over the past few weeks, Spanish reports increasingly claimed that the Croatian was pushing to leave Real Madrid and was doing everything possible to become a free agent. The only available path, however, led through the NBA.
The deadline to activate that NBA-out clause was Monday night, July 20. On that evening, respected Spanish reporter Chema de Lucas revealed that “Super Mario” had informed Real Madrid that an NBA team would pay the buyout and that he would be returning to the world’s best basketball league next season.
Even that night, though, many remained skeptical, mainly because nobody knew which NBA franchise was supposedly willing to pay the clause.
For a few hours, another theory emerged: that Hezonja had paid the buyout himself. Reports in Spain suggested that Real Madrid also had doubts over whether there was actually an NBA team behind the move. Encestando even proposed a possible scenario in which Hezonja would sign an Exhibit 10 contract on a minimum salary, become a free agent shortly after training camp and then return to Europe to sign a lucrative long-term deal with the club of his choice.
Early Wednesday morning (July 22), veteran NBA insider Marc Stein added even more fuel to the speculation. The American reporter stated that Hezonja does indeed intend to return to the NBA and added that multiple franchises have already expressed interest in signing him.
Then came Wednesday night’s bombshell.
Marca revealed that, two days after the NBA-out deadline had expired, the $850,000 buyout still had not been paid to Real Madrid. Furthermore, the Spanish newspaper reported that, under ACB regulations, Pedro Martinez’s club now holds all the leverage.
Because the clause was not activated before the deadline, Real Madrid is entitled to keep the player under contract. As a result, Hezonja’s camp reportedly contacted the Spanish club and offered a significantly larger amount in an attempt to terminate the contract. In other words, the Croatian tried to buy his freedom so he could choose the next destination of his career without being restricted by a specific market or league.
Encestando later revealed that Real Madrid executives held a video conference with Misko Raznatovic earlier in the day. However, the talks reportedly reached a dead end, with Spanish media describing the situation as extremely serious.
At the same time, Turkish media have brought Anadolu Efes into the picture, Olympiacos—according to Marca—continues to monitor the situation closely, while Dubai BC remains on standby. Xavi Pascual’s team failed to complete the signing of Alpha Diallo and is still searching for a marquee addition. Encestando also reported that Hezonja’s preferred destination remains the United Arab Emirates.
At this stage, no one can predict with certainty how the Hezonja saga will end or where the elite forward will be playing next season. The level of uncertainty surrounding his future is unlike anything else seen in this summer’s European transfer market, with everyone waiting for the final decision of a player capable of reshaping both the EuroLeague landscape and the balance of power across the continent.