Mario Hezonja is back in the NBA, and his return is the kind of thing that will hit Knicks fans right in the memory bank.
When the Knicks face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, Hezonja will be on the other side after spending this season in a much bigger role than anyone likely expected. For New York fans who lived through the 2018-19 season, that alone is enough to bring back a few grim flashbacks.
That year was a disaster for the Knicks, who finished with the NBA’s worst record at 17-65. It was also the only season Hezonja spent in New York. The former No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft arrived with something to prove after three seasons with Orlando had left him tagged as a draft bust, but that reset never really happened.
Hezonja played the next season with the Portland Trail Blazers before heading overseas for six years. Now 31, he’s back with Cleveland and has carved out a real spot in the rotation for a team that reached the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals.
He’s appeared in all eight games this season and is averaging 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 19.6 minutes. Hezonja has scored in double figures in each of his last two games and in three of his last four, with Cleveland set to play the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
For the Knicks, though, Hezonja is less about what he’s doing now and more about what he represents: a time when the franchise was still buried in the mud. New York didn’t bounce back right away after he left, either, going 21-45 the following season.
Hezonja did leave behind a couple of moments that stuck. One came when he blocked a LeBron James game-winning attempt to help secure a rare Knicks victory. The other was the big dunk against the Milwaukee Bucks, followed by the step-over of Giannis Antetokounmpo that came with it.
Across 58 games with the Knicks, Hezonja averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.8 minutes. He also had one of his best nights late in that season, pouring in 30 points in a three-point win over the Washington Wizards.
That roster had plenty of reminders of where the franchise stood at the time. Kevin Knox, another player viewed as a draft bust, averaged 28.8 minutes per game.
Noah Vonleh started 57 games. The “Frank Hive” was pushing for more Frank Ntilikina in what was his second season, even though he shot 33.7% from the field.
And Mitchell Robinson, a second-round pick, was one of the few bright spots, giving the fanbase something real to hold onto.
So when Knicks fans see Hezonja on Saturday, they won’t just be seeing an old teammate. They’ll be seeing a snapshot of a much rougher era - and a reminder of how far the franchise has come since then.
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