Cavaliers sign former Spanish League MVP to 1-year contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers officially signed forward Mario Hezonja to a one-year contract on Friday, bringing the former fifth overall NBA Draft pick back to the league for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

The 31-year-old Croatian returns after spending the last six seasons playing in Greece, Russia and Spain, including the previous four campaigns with Real Madrid. His arrival gives Cleveland additional frontcourt and wing depth following the free-agent departures of Dean Wade and Keon Ellis. The Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time since 2018 and entered the offseason looking to strengthen their rotation.

Hezonja is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. Real Madrid’s standout forward was named the 2025-26 Liga ACB Most Valuable Player after averaging 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 23.1 minutes across 80 appearances in EuroLeague, Liga ACB, the Spanish Cup and ACB Supercup while shooting 84.8% from the free-throw line.

During his four seasons with Real Madrid, Hezonja helped the club win the 2023 EuroLeague championship, consecutive Liga ACB titles in 2024 and 2025, while earning All-EuroLeague Second Team honors in 2024. Across his four-year spell with the Spanish club, Hezonja won six trophies: one EuroLeague title, two Liga ACB championships, one Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups.

Before joining Real Madrid, Hezonja also played for Panathinaikos in Greece, helping the club win the Greek League championship in 2021, and spent time with Russia’s UNICS Kazan. Over his international career with FC Barcelona, Panathinaikos, UNICS Kazan and Real Madrid, he appeared in 533 games, averaging 11.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in 21.6 minutes. Earlier in his career, he also won Liga ACB championships with Barcelona in 2012 and 2014.

Originally selected fifth overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2015 NBA Draft, Hezonja played 330 NBA games with the Magic, New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in five seasons. He also appeared in five playoff games with the Trail Blazers in 2020 before beginning his overseas career.

The Cavaliers, who missed out on a LeBron James return, finalized Hezonja’s signing after completing the paperwork surrounding his departure from Real Madrid, ending several days of uncertainty and adding one of Europe’s most accomplished forwards to their 2026-27 roster.

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