By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Mario Hezonja penned a five-year contract extension with Real Madrid.
Los Blancos officially announced the new contract on Tuesday.
Hezonja, 29, revealed the deal on June 20. Following the post across his social media accounts, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the contract extension with Madrid containing an NBA-out clause until July 19.
The Croatian forward is currently in Greece, preparing to represent his country in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus. In action later today, he will face Slovenia and Luka Doncic in the opener of Group A. The winner of the OQT, additionally featuring host Greece, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, and New Zealand, will enter Group A of the basketball tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games to face Australia, Canada, and the winner of the Valencia OQT.
Following the summer international schedule and barring a potential return to the NBA, Hezonja will focus on helping the team based in the capital of Spain in the 2024-25 editions of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and domestic competitions.
Over two years at Madrid, he has been crowned EuroLeague champion in 2023, ACB and Copa del Rey champion in 2024, and Supercopa champion in 2022 and 2023.
In the 2023-24 installment of Europe’s premier club continental competitions, Hezonja tallied 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds, earning a spot in the All-EuroLeague Second Team. He added 10.6 points per appearance in the Liga Endesa.
Suiting up for the Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic, he logged 335 appearances in the NBA between 2015 and 2020.