Orlando Magic: 2017-18 player grades for Mario Hezonja

Highlights

Throughout the first two years of his career, you would have been hard-pressed to find a single standout game from Hezonja that anybody cared about.

That all changed on Dec. 17 however, when Hezonja poured in 28 points in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. He did so while shooting 8-of-12 from 3-point land, finally giving those hardened few still vouching for Hezonja’s place in the league something to point to.

It was beautiful and it got Twitter talking about the Magic for a moment there — an exceptionally hard thing to do for a team that didn’t get on national television once throughout the season.

The highlight of the game was a buzzer-beater when the game was already over, and yet Hezonja just couldn’t let go. In may ways it personifies his time in the league to date.

That was the turning point for the player, with Hezonja going on to score in double digits in 10 out of the next 14 games.

What was also impressive about that particular night is something that Hezonja has had throughout his entire time with the organization, and it should be commended: his ability to always say the right things to the media, never speaking out of turn or ruffling feathers when talking about his situation with the Magic.

It hasn’t been ideal for him to say the least, and yet here is a guy after having a career night talking about what he could have done better.

It might never get better than this, although you get the feeling that with confidence regained throughout the year, more performances like this will pop up from time to time.