After joining the NBA in 2012, French guard Evan Fournier joined Greek basketball club Olympiacos earlier this month. The 31-year-old guard had a strong Paris Olympics 2024 run with home side France, finishing as the silver medalist. In a recent interview, Fournier discussed the role of the Paris Olympics 2024 in assisting his departure from the Detroit Pistons and return to Europe.
In his 12 years in the NBA, Fournier played for the Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. In his last two NBA seasons, the French guard played 59 games, starting just seven, for the Knicks and the Pistons.
In an interview with Eurohoops, Fournier revealed the “dark side” of the NBA and also discussed the reason behind his move to Olympiacos. He said, “I think one of the dark sides of the NBA is when teams are losing on purpose to get higher draft picks.”
While crediting the Paris Olympics 2024 to help him leave the Pistons, he added, “I want to play competitive basketball. Meaningful games… Going from Detroit to the Olympics gave me life. I want to continue like this.”
Evan Fournier Talks About His Admiration For Olympiacos
Fournier took to X and reposted his old tweet to announce his signing with Olympiacos. His old tweet read, “If one day I had to return to Europe and I had the choice to go wherever I wanted, I think I would go to Olympiacos. It’s still a hell of a club.”
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The lack of competitiveness at the Pistons in his final NBA season forced him to return to Europe. In the interview, Fournier said, “Every planet has aligned for me to come here. Sometimes, there are things you can’t explain. It’s like when you find your wife – you can’t explain. I’ve always looked at Olympiacos like a club that means something to me. I don’t know why.”
In his NBA career, the French guard averaged 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. His return to Europe will also reunite him with his Poitiers Basket 86 teammate, Moustapha Fall, at Olympiacos.
