Barcelona (2012–2015) In July 2012, Hezonja signed a three-year contract with Spanish club
Barcelona, at the age of 17. He also had an option to extend his contract for an additional four years with the club. His former club, Zagreb, also got €150,000 in the name of a buyout, as he was still under contract. For the 2012–13 season, he was
loaned to the
reserve team of the club,
Barcelona B of the
LEB Oro, the
Spanish second-tier level division. In 2012, Hezonja was nominated for the
FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year Award, but
Jonas Valančiūnas eventually won the award. Finals in London, in May 2013 Hezonja played in the
EuroLeague for the first time, in the
2012–13 season. He appeared in only 2 games, averaging 2.5 points and 2 rebounds per game. During the EuroLeague's
2013–14 season, Hezonja played very limited minutes. Starting with the 2014–15 season, Hezonja's role in the team increased, from playing only during the
garbage time in the previous season, to around 15 minutes per game. On 1 February 2015, Hezonja hit 8-of-8 from the three-point line in a
2014–15 Spanish League season game, in a 101–53 Barcelona win, against
La Bruixa d'Or Manresa, becoming the
Spanish League MVP for week 19 of the season. Barcelona finished their participation in the
2014–15 EuroLeague season, after a quarterfinal series loss to
Olympiacos. Over 22 EuroLeague games played, Hezonja averaged 7.7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. On 23 April 2015, Hezonja declared himself eligible for the
2015 NBA draft, as an international "early-entrant", just days after Barcelona's elimination in the EuroLeague. He had been identified as a potential lottery pick early in his career, and surprised some by opting not to declare for the draft in 2014, his first year of eligibility. Some Spanish and Croatian media saw this move as the player's response to poor communication throughout the final few months with Barcelona's head coach
Xavi Pascual; Pascal denied any problems in communication. Barcelona eventually finished the season losing in the
final series of the
2015 Spanish League playoffs, after a 3–0 series loss to
Real Madrid.
Orlando Magic (2015–2018) On 25 June 2015, Hezonja was selected with the fifth overall pick by the
Orlando Magic in the
2015 NBA draft. On 10 July 2015, he signed a rookie scale contract with the Magic. ;2015–16 season He made his debut for the Magic in the team's season-opening loss to the
Washington Wizards on 28 October 2015, recording 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench. On 31 January 2016, he scored a then-season-high 17 points in a 119–114 win over the
Boston Celtics. On 28 February 2016, he made his first career NBA start and dunked four seconds into the game, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes of action in a 130–116 win over the
Philadelphia 76ers. On 2 March 2016, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 102–89 win over the
Chicago Bulls. On 11 April 2016, he set career highs with seven assists and five steals while scoring 19 points in a 107–98 win over the
Milwaukee Bucks. The Magic finished the season with 35–47 record, missing the
playoffs. Hezonja finished the season making 79 appearances with the averages of 6.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists on 43.3 field goal percentage. ;2016–17 season Under new head coach
Frank Vogel, Hezonja saw minutes reduction, mainly due to his mediocre defense. On 28 October 2016, Hezonja scored 13 points in a 108–82 loss to the
Detroit Pistons. He tied that season high on 4 April 2017, registering another 13-point effort in a 122–102 loss to the
Cleveland Cavaliers. In the Magic's season finale on 12 April 2017, Hezonja grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in a 113–109 win over Detroit. Although his defense improved towards the end of the season, his shooting numbers waned. After seeing very little action in the beginning of the 2017–18 season, he made first start of the season against the
Atlanta Hawks on 9 December and scored 7 points. On 13 December in a game against the
Los Angeles Clippers, he scored a season-high 17 points and had nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. On 17 December, Hezonja scored a then-career-high 28 points and had six rebounds and two assists, while shooting 8 from 12 from the three-point line, in a 114–110 loss to the
Detroit Pistons.
New York Knicks (2018–2019) On 6 July 2018, Hezonja signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the
New York Knicks. On 17 March 2019, he made a game-winning block against
LeBron James in a 124–123 win over the
Los Angeles Lakers. Hezonja recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals alongside the block. On 5 April, he recorded his first career
triple-double, logging 16 points, 16 rebounds and eleven assists in a 96–120 loss to the
Houston Rockets. Two days later, Hezonja scored a career-high 30 points, alongside six rebounds, five assists and two steals, in a 113–110 win over the
Washington Wizards.
Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2020) On 3 July 2019, Hezonja signed a two-year, $3.7 million deal with the
Portland Trail Blazers. On 20 November 2020, Hezonja was traded to the
Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade involving
Enes Kanter Freedom. On 11 December, the Grizzlies waived Hezonja.
Panathinaikos (2021) On 22 February 2021,
Panathinaikos signed Hezonja for the remainder of 2020–21 season. There was an option on his contract for an additional year (until 30 June 2022), with a buy-out clause from
FC Barcelona estimated around €400,000. Enes Kanter Freedom, Hezonja's Turkish teammate on the
Portland Trail Blazers, allegedly played a vital part in his transfer to the Greek powerhouse, having also expressed his sympathies towards both Panathinaikos and the country of Greece in the past.
UNICS (2021–2022) On 31 July 2021, Hezonja signed with the Russian team
UNICS Kazan of the
VTB United League, and of the
EuroLeague until it was suspended due to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 26 January 2022, he was named a
VTB United League All-Star, as part of the World Stars team.
Real Madrid (2022–present) On 21 July 2022, Hezonja joined reigning Spanish champions
Real Madrid on a two-year deal. He won the EuroLeague in 2023 and was runner-up in 2024. On 2 July 2024, Hezonja signed a five-year contract extension with the Spanish powerhouse. In September 2024, he was sidelined for an unspecified amount of time after getting ill and losing weight as a result. On October 2, he had resumed practices but was still questionable on returning to action. ==National team career==