The Hamburg forward wears a bracelet reading: “Create what you want to be” and “Greatness is a choice”
Inspirational bracelet means even more for Zsombor Maronka after successful recovery
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14 Mins read
Any time Zsombor Maronka was fighting through his difficult 2024-25 season, he just had to look at his wrist and the bracelet he wears. The gift from his family a decade ago reads: “Create what you want to be” and “Greatness is a choice”. And those words helped the young Hungarian talent get back on the court after 10 months out.
Maronka will remember September 24, 2025, for quite some time. It was the first time the 23-year-old got stepped on the parquet for a game since November 2024 after recovering from cartilage being removed from his foot. Hamburg lost 94-89 to Bamberg, but Maronka finally felt the rush of playing in front of fans again.
“Despite the loss, honestly, it was amazing and just uplifting to be back on the court. After such a long time of just watching the guys play and now finally being able to be on the court and help the team and do stuff, it was just amazing,” said Maronka, who totaled 8 points and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes in the game, told David Hein.
Maronka has been playing basketball since he was four years old and that was by far his longest stretch of being away from the game, having previously missed about two months with a sprained ankle.
Back in November 2024, Maronka took a wrong step and said he heard a crack. An MRI could not really provide immediate clarity and surgery was needed to see exactly what had happened.
Before the surgery, Maronka was told by doctors he could miss six weeks or six months. They wouldn’t know until they went into to examine the ankle.
“When I woke up the doc told me: 'Everything went well, the surgery was successful and everything went according to plan. But there's going to be a longer recovery time.' So that's when the first moment of realization hit,” he remembered.
A large piece of cartilage at the front of his foot had broken off and had to be removed. Surgeons, he said, replaced the empty space with a matrix gel to help regrow the cartilage. Maronka was forced to wear a boot for six weeks to make sure the matrix stayed in place.
He was on crutches for that time and it was a challenge for him to do every day tasks, including taking the stairs to his apartment on the fourth floor.
Maronka initially was doing the math and thinking six months meant he could maybe get back in time for the end of the regular season or the playoffs in May. The progress turned out to be slower than he'd hoped and it was clear he would have to wait instead of risking it.
“By the end, the most difficult part for me was knowing when you're at that point of almost coming back, but you still have to hold yourself back, be patient and not rush the end of the process,” said Maronka.
He did not go the rehab process alone. Beside family and friends, he also talked to Hamburg’s sports psychologist Renate Eichenberger throughout the entire rehab. Still, Maronka always tries to keep a positive mindset and believes things happen for a reason. And he said he used the rehab time to work on his body and his mental aspect of the game.
He worked out with the club’s strength coach on basketball-specific training. That and other work helped him eliminate previous lower back problems that had bothered him. Maronka joked that he worked out so much with the club’s assault bike – a stationary exercise bike for full-body, high-intensity workouts – that it became his best friend.
Right there with him also was that bracelet from his parents and brother, given to him when he left Hungary in 2016 to join Joventut Badalona. And the messages meant even more while he was rehabbing.
“There were a lot of moments last year where I felt like I could have accepted the mentality of I'm not playing, I cannot contribute to the team. But I feel like I attacked rehab even harder than I would do regular practices. I felt like this is a time that I can really create habits and a mentality that will help me even more moving forward once I'm back playing,” he said.
Maronka is still in the process of creating the Zsombor he wants to be.
“I feel like first of all even more of a team player, a team guy. I was able to see aspects of how important it is the standards you hold for yourself to around the team.”
He may still be one of the younger players, but he came into last season with 13 EuroCup games played over three seasons with Joventut, starting with his debut in November 2020.
“I'm one of the guys who played at a pretty high level already, so maybe bring some tips, some experience with that energy and intensity. So I just want to be a supportive guy to my teammates and be the best version of myself.”
This past summer also saw Maronka sign a two-year contract with Hamburg. He had been in Hamburg last season on loan from Joventut – the club that loaned him to Neptunas Klaipeda in 2023-24 as well.
“I made the decision because after coming off of a long injury, I would need a lot of playing time. And I felt like this was a better place for me to be able to play,” he said. “I felt like the coaches' expectations for me here are more suitable for my plans. That's why I made the decision.”
Maronka actually signed the new contract while he was in Badalona this past July, saying goodbye to the people in the Spanish club.
Maronka still had two more years on his long-term deal with Joventut so it didn’t seem odd at all to pen a two-year contract with Hamburg.
“Signing a two-year contract here also would give me more security. I don't have to rush things, and the club gave me that sign too. So I also really appreciate that."
Now things are in place for Maronka to create the best Zsombor Maronka he can be.