Hezonja emotionally leaves Real Madrid and returns to the NBA
The Croatian basketball player bid farewell to 'his home' with a letter and thanked the club for enabling his return to the US, where he will play for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Croatian basketball player bid farewell to 'his home' with a letter and thanked the club for enabling his return to the US, where he will play for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Croatian national team basketball player Mario Hezonja officially confirmed his departure from Real Madrid on Thursday, August 6, 2026. In an emotional letter posted on social media platform X, he bid farewell to the Madrid club and announced his return to the NBA, where he will don the Cleveland Cavaliers jersey.
"The moment I thought would never come has arrived, leaving Real Madrid, leaving my home. This is not a decision born from a lack of your love or a desire to continue playing for this badge, but from circumstances that have led me down a different path," wrote the 31-year-old forward.
In his farewell letter, Hezonja specifically highlighted several names from Real Madrid's management and locker room. He thanked president Florentino Pérez, sporting director Alberto Herreros, and former captain Rudy Fernández. His highest praise went to Juan Carlos Sánchez, emphasizing that he facilitated contract amendments to allow him to "once again try to fulfill the dream of playing in the NBA."
"I wish all people were as serious, clear, and easy to understand. I will always value relationships built on a given word, respect, and trust. These are values I have always considered fundamental and will continue to cherish wherever I go," Hezonja stated.
Despite having a valid contract until 2029, Hezonja exercised a clause allowing him to leave for the NBA upon payment of €850,000. According to reports from Spanish media, he did not make the payment by the July 20 deadline but merely informed the club of his intention. The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly later stepped in with their own offer, leading to negotiations and a temporary silence from all parties involved. In February, Hezonja became a client of Serbian agent Miško Ražnatović.
He spent the period from the summer of 2022 at Real Madrid, winning a total of six trophies. The crowning achievement was the 2023 EuroLeague, and he also filled the trophy cabinet with two Spanish league titles. Overall, he played in the final of Europe's elite competition three times. Last season, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Spanish league's regular season, but Real Madrid unexpectedly fell in the playoff quarterfinals to Tenerife and, for the first time since 2011, finished without a trophy, leading to a coaching change.
"From day one, the message was clear, win everything. And we did. But if anyone has won me over forever, it's you. You taught me what it means to belong to a club that is lived like a family," Hezonja wrote, addressing the fans.
Hezonja returns to the league where he previously played between 2015 and 2020. For the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, and Portland Trail Blazers, he played a total of 330 games, averaging 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest. After his initial NBA stint, he played for Panathinaikos and Russia's UNICS Kazan before arriving in Madrid.
"Now I continue on my path with the same enthusiasm and the same ambition with which I arrived. You already know me. I hope our paths cross again one day," Hezonja concluded his farewell letter.
