Mario Kasun, retired Croatian basketball player, former center for the Orlando Magic and Barcelona, spoke to Basketball Sphere about his time with Ergin Ataman, the incredible Cup final against Fenerbahce, working with Dwight Howard, and many other interesting topics.
Always an intriguing and unique personality, retired Croatian basketball player Mario Kasun is an interesting person for a story. Few players can boast of having played in the NBA and several European giants, and he is one who achieved that.
There are many topics, and we’ve decided to start this conversation with the NBA. Let’s remember, Kasun was selected as the 41st pick of the second round of the NBA draft, just like Nikola Jokic. He was chosen in 2002 by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers traded him to the Orlando Magic, and he debuted two years later in the blue jersey.
“Playing and practicing with Dwight Howard was great…”
Dwight Howard was arguably the best center of his generation, and Mario Kasun shares his experiences with him:
“Playing and practicing with Dwight was great, and I have to say that we pushed each other. Every summer, we trained together. He’s an outstanding player who I believe should be among the Top 75 players in NBA history,” began the former Orlando Magic center in this interview and continued:
“From the start, it was known that it was just a matter of time before he would explode. In his very first season, he showed that the sky’s the limit for him.“
Can the NBA league prevent Serbia from winning a medal in Paris?
On NBA courts, he encountered many legends of the sport, and we were interested in who left the biggest impression on him:
“Many players… Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Gilbert Arenas, LeBron James. Grant was a wonder of a player, in my opinion, if it weren’t for injuries, he would be at the level of Jordan or Bryant.”
Return to Europe and disagreements with Dusko Ivanovic
After his NBA episode, he returned to Europe, to the Catalan giant Barcelona. His teammates included his national team colleague Roko Leni-Ukic, current Barcelona coach Roger Grimau, Jaka Lakovic, and one of the greatest European guards of all time, Juan Carlos Navarro.
“The period with Navarro was great, a fantastic player in every sense. The only thing is that we had a coach to not win anything,” Mario Kasun said without hesitation.
In the “Podcast Inkubator” show, he extensively talked about the ordeal he went through with the Montenegrin coach during that period, and when asked, he gave a very clear answer.
“Dusko… There are no words for him! That’s in the past.“
Let’s also recall a statement from the podcast:
“Dusko Ivanovic told me that I was out of shape and that I should go up the hill every morning and run for an hour before training. I lost 12 kilograms in seven, eight days, I was cut in half. At the beginning, he spoke to me in our language, and later only in Spanish.”
Kasun says Ivanovic forced him to play injured. The Croatian basketball player collapsed in the middle of a game.
“He bullied me. Sent me to the second team, and then what happened with the heart. A top game in the Canary Islands, I’ve never been better, feeling great, and this guy is yelling, f***ing everything. I got a little hit in the chest, and I just blacked out and fell asleep. They put me on a stretcher and took me to the hospital.
Recovery took seven days, Dusko, as much as he loved me, forced me to come back in seven days. Now that I think about it, I’d tell him to go to hell…“
“Ergin Ataman is a man who knows how to create a system, it was a pleasure working with him, especially after Dusko Ivanovic”
After an unfortunate episode in Barcelona, where he played solid basketball, he headed to fiery Istanbul, to the Anadolu Efes team, where he was welcomed by coach Ergin Ataman.
“Ergin Ataman is a man who knows how to create a system and integrate all players to do a great job. It was a pleasure working with him, especially after Dusko.“
Ataman is now known as a unique character, preferring a game with more guards on the court. We were curious about how Kasun, as a traditional center, fit into his vision.
“Ergin had a good relationship with the players. That’s why he did what he did. Sometimes a bit unrealistic in some situations, but it’s all in the heat of the battle. A great guy.“
Fight with Fenerbahce fan
Many are unfamiliar with the 2008 Turkish Cup final when Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce had an epic battle. Efes, led by Kasun, turned the series around after being down 0-2.
“The craziest final of my life! Ergin Ataman wanted to spread the floor with four guards and a power forward at the five instead of a traditional center. That led us to a 0-2 deficit, and I was playing great up to that point. After the first two games, I asked for a contract termination. Ataman and my former manager persuaded me to stay, and Ataman asked what to do for the next four games. I told him to let me play, and we would win the title. It turned out that way, we won the last game in their arena and celebrated.“
The game was marked by a big fight in which Kasun confronted a Fener fan who took the defeat hard:
“In the meantime, all the fans are rushing onto the court, and a brawl starts. Well, those are all fond memories,” Mario Kasun tells us with a smile.”
“In Belgrade, there was the best Croatian team, but it wasn’t meant to be. We know why”
The 2005 European Championship played in Belgrade will forever be etched in the memory of Croatian fans. Recall that Croatia passed the group as the second-placed team behind Lithuania with a 2-1 record. Then came the knockout stage game against Italy, and Croatia won that game precisely on the wings of Kasun, who scored 20 points with seven rebounds, and was flawless from the free-throw line (8-8).
The next encounter was with Spain, which had a mega team (Rudy, Rodriguez, Garbajosa, Navarro, Calderon, Reyes, Jimenez…). Croatia had an eight-point lead at halftime, but in the tense ending, with some controversial decisions by Luigi Lamonica, the match went into overtime, which the Croats lost with an unbelievable score of 28-12. Juan Carlos Navarro scored 36 points, attempting an impressive 21 free throws in that game.
Mario Kasun was the team’s second-leading scorer in that tournament with 11.4 points, just behind Gordan Giricek.
“In Belgrade, there was the best Croatian team, but it wasn’t meant to be. We know why. I would still emphasize that being among the top five, six places in Europe is a success. As for Croatian basketball, it’s better to stick to game-fixing,” Kasun said in his style.
On that EuroBasket in 2005, they were led by today’s coach of Venezia, Neven Spahija, whom Mario Kasun speaks highly of.
“Neven Spahija was, in my opinion, the best Croatian coach, and he knew us inside out. Nikola Vujcic, Nikola Prkacin, and Zoran Planinic are players with whom I connected best on the court, and it was a true pleasure to play with them. That’s why we performed well in that tournament.”
Greece won the tournament, defeating Germany with Dirk Nowitzki in the final. Nowitzki finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with an average of 26.1 points and received the MVP award. The final score was 78-62, with Theodoros Papaloukas shining with 22 points, while Nowitzki had 23 points on the other side.
“I am the biggest ‘what if'”
Injuries plagued Kasun throughout his career. There’s a lingering sense that with more consistency in his game, his career would have been more remarkable.
“As they say, I am the biggest ‘what if.’ That’s the path God chose for me. I regret nothing, it had to be that way.“
In the end, an injury prevented him from joining Cibona.
“Yes, Cibona… The injury to my right hand in Siena, where they said it was nothing. That situation led me to surgery and nine months of recovery and training at Gonzaga. It was a question of whether my hand would return to its original state and whether I would be able to feel all the fingers. I think I could have done much better if it weren’t for some injuries and slightly better circumstances.“
“Coaches who couldn’t even manage a village cooperative…”
We also touched on the period with KK Zagreb, with which Kasun played in the EuroLeague. The team included Kruno Simon, Damir Mulaomerovic, Mario Hezonja, Dario Saric, Luka Zoric, Dominik Mavra, and Damir Markota.
During that time, Kasun statistically played his best season – in nine games, he averaged 25 minutes, scoring 12.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists and blocks, and 0.7 steals per game (all career-best numbers). He shot 53% from the field and an excellent 80% from the free-throw line for a center. His average efficiency index was 13.3.
“The atmosphere was fantastic in Zagreb, but the management messed things up, and of course, some coaches, in quotes, who couldn’t even manage a village cooperative. The dream team was Babic, the best guard Mulaomerovic, Zoric, Simon. Let’s not forget the salary delays during that period…“
“Hezonja and Saric were kids, but even then it was known that they would have fantastic careers”
“Playing with Simon was really great. A nice experience, and yes, statistically the best season of my career, but we had to do it that way because there were no other options. Hezonja and Saric were kids, but even then it was known that they would have fantastic careers,” Mario Kasun concluded for Basketball Sphere.