Evan Fournier spent 12 seasons in the NBA before the former Boston Celtics forward decided to punt on free agency and decided to sign a two-year, $4 million deal with EuroLeague club Olympiacos B.C.
Following a career-altering stint with the New York Knicks that saw Fournier’s minutes plummet from 29.5 in 2021-22 to 17 in 2022-23, plus a non-beneficial midseason trade to the Detroit Pistons, Fournier had enough. The return to NBA free agency didn’t fare well for the 31-year-old, however, it wasn’t as if each of the league’s 30 franchises had zero interest in striking a deal. Fournier revealed that the Washington Wizards extended a two-year offer, per Maxine Aubin of L’Equipe, which Fournier rejected.
“I had already thought about going back to Europe,” Fournier told L’Equipe. “If it was to experience something strong emotions, in a place where it was on fire, it was 100 percent yes. I would have liked to experience more things in the NBA, I only made the playoffs five times. But you don’t control everything about your destiny there. After the Olympic Games, I told my agent that I was keen to (return to Europe). Olympiakos was my priority.”
Fournier, a first-round selection by the Denver Nuggets (20th overall) in 2012, reached the height of his career with the Orlando Magic, averaging 16.2 points with 2.9 rebounds and three assists through a seven-year stint. Fournier was a reliable 3-point shooter, draining 37.4% of outside shot attempts in the NBA, but never managed to return to the same offensive form that he’d reach with Orlando. Short-lived tenures with the Celtics, Knicks and Pistons — in which he fell out of each team’s rotation — proved Fournier needed a fresh start, and even averaging 9.8 points for Team France during its silver medal run in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics wasn’t enough to bulk up the stock value.
Now, Fournier can utilize the next two years with Olympiacos to potentially repair his damaged market value and reach out to NBA teams in 2026.
“I am aware that it is not the NBA,” Fournier explained to L’Equipe. “There will be an adaptation period, but every summer, I go back to play in FIBA’s biggest competitions. Here, I could navigate the positions from ‘1’ to ‘3’. It leaves more opportunities to take minutes. The No. 1 thing is that I want to win the EuroLeague.”
