A new chapter is set to begin in Cleveland for Mario Hezonja. He last appeared in the league seven seasons ago, and he’s finally ready for his first NBA minutes since the Disney World bubble. He hasn’t played in front of real fans going back to pre-pandemic, early March of 2020.

As he joins his fourth NBA club and first of the decade, he has some big shoes to fill. Interestingly enough, he is actually going to be going against the very player he is replacing in his first official appearance.

Cavs vs. Sixers is now just two days away.

Ready For His Second Look

Mario Hezonja is set for his Cavs debut, and he’ll be going against Dean Wade in his premier outing. After seven seasons in Cleveland himself, Wade signed a four-year deal with the Sixers over the summer, joining Mike Gansey in a new city.

How fitting it is that he’ll kick things off against the player whose minutes he is directly replacing. He’s a cheaper option for the squad that also provides quite a bit more offense than his counterpart, who made his money on the defensive side of the ball.

Hezonja has been playing in the EuroLeague since leaving the NBA, spending the past couple of seasons with Real Madrid. He won the league MVP in 2024-25, and has been scoring the ball well. He suited up for Croatia over the summer and put on some absolute scoring clinics in the FIBA Qualifiers.

Clearly somebody who just wants to play ball, Hezonja has stated he likes the type of winters he’ll get in Cleveland, claiming he is “tired of the sunshine.” – This of course comes from a guy who has spent time in Spain, Croatia, and Florida previously during his basketball career. 

More than 2,245 days later, Hezonja is going to suit up in an NBA game again. Not even Guerschon Yabusele (2,029 days between games) had to wait quite that long.

Setting The Stage for Wade vs. Hezonja

Dean Wade should fit in nicely in Philadelphia. The team needed help on the wing to replace Kelly Oubre Jr. And right when free agency got going, they acquired the big forward. During his first media sessions, he cited the ‘championship opportunity’ as a key reason for joining.

As for Mario Hezonja, his role is going to be to put the ball in the cup. Other than that one fourth quarter against the Celtics a few seasons ago, that was never Wade’s job. Any night where he scored in double-figures was considered kind of a big deal. He did that just 60 times (and they went 38-22 in those games).

These two will be covering each other. Each joined their new team to get some playing time, and compete for a title. They will be guarding one another. They are both 6’9 and provide size and length to the lineup. Expect Hezonja to be more aggressive offensively, while Wade will be moving the ball around and perhaps crashing the glass more.

It’ll certainly be odd for Cavs fans to see a guy they had for seven years as the opponent during their season-opener. But it’ll certainly be an exciting experience to get their first real in-game look at Hezonja.

Cavs. Sixers. 7:00 PM on Thursday. Should be fun. It's worth noting that Wade is currently nursing an ankle injury, which would be the only thing stopping this matchup from happening.