When Evan Fournier signed with Olympiacos in September 2024, most fans expected the former NBA star to bring scoring, leadership and elite-level experience to one of Europe’s biggest basketball clubs. Few expected him to become one of Greece’s most enthusiastic food influencers.
Yet somewhere between his first bite of souvlaki and his latest late-night search for the perfect grilled lamb chops in Piraeus, the French international has become something much bigger than a basketball icon. In less than two years, Fournier has evolved into a cult hero among Greek fans — not only for what he does on the court, but for the genuine passion he shows for everyday Greek life, flavors and traditions.
And it all started long before he ever wore Olympiacos red.
Back in 2010, a 16-year-old Fournier traveled to Paris’ Palais Omnisports de Bercy arena to watch the EuroLeague Final Four. Sitting among Olympiacos supporters, he was mesmerized by the atmosphere created by the club’s famously passionate fanbase. The experience stayed with him.
Twelve years later, on Twitter — now X — Fournier made what would become a legendary promise among Olympiacos fans: if he ever left the NBA and returned to Europe, he wanted to play for the team from Piraeus, the historic port city next to Athens and home to Olympiacos.
In the summer of 2024, he made good on that promise.
EuroLeague itself joined in on trolling Fournier with a souvlaki from Bairaktaris, the iconic Athens grill house. The post came after the French-Algerian star’s own social media tributes to gyro meat, wrapped pitas and Greek street food.
Fournier turned down an offer from the Washington Wizards, crossed the Atlantic and quickly finalized a deal with Olympiacos. Almost overnight, he became one of the most adored figures in Greek basketball.
But what surprised many was how naturally he embraced life in Greece.
Despite spending 12 years in the NBA — the world’s most glamorous basketball league — Fournier never carried himself like a superstar. He bonded instantly with teammates, immersed himself in local culture and, perhaps most memorably, fell headfirst into the country’s food scene.
The first souvlaki Evan tried in Athens turned out to be one of the city’s very best. That was the beginning of a passionate love affair with gyro and wrapped pita sandwiches.
For a professional athlete with a carefully structured diet, many assumed the French-Algerian guard would lean toward refined cuisine, wine and artisanal cheeses. Instead, Greece discovered that Fournier has a weakness for two things: wrapped gyros and Panorama triangles.
The latter — “Trigona Panoramatos” in Greek — are iconic syrup-filled pastries from Panorama, a suburb of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, famous nationwide for its custard cream desserts.
Fournier quickly became obsessed.
He also wasted little time discovering Athens’ legendary street-food spots. Fans noticed almost immediately how adventurous he was with food and began flooding his social media accounts with recommendations for bakeries, dessert shops, pie stores and roadside canteens in every city Olympiacos visited.
And Fournier listened.
One stop became particularly memorable: Achilleas in Neos Kosmos, a neighborhood south of central Athens known among locals for some of the city’s best souvlaki. The shop’s handmade gyro meat often sells out within hours of opening, and Fournier instantly understood why. After tasting his first wrapped pita there, there was no turning back.
Soon after, he asked followers to recommend more souvlaki spots. He reportedly received around 350 different responses.
Then came feta.
Not the packaged version he had eaten abroad, but authentic Greek barrel-aged feta — stronger, creamier and deeply tied to traditional Greek food culture. According to fans following the saga online, Fournier was hooked immediately.
After his post about feta cheese, the French star probably received enough supplies to last him through the next two years of his contract with Olympiacos.
That obsession soon turned into a running national joke.
Fans began sending him treats: homemade pies, galaktoboureko custard pastries, loukoumades — Greece’s honey-soaked doughnuts — revani semolina cake and halva desserts. Some gifts came spontaneously from supporters. Others came strategically from food brands eager to capitalize on Fournier’s growing reputation as an unofficial ambassador for Greek cuisine.
Boxes of syrupy desserts reportedly started appearing regularly on the way to Olympiacos practices, often disappearing before assistant coaches could even begin training sessions. Sometimes Fournier shared them with teammates. Other times, judging from his posts, he seemed perfectly happy keeping them to himself.
Giannoulis Larentzakis enjoys a Panorama triangle pastry gifted to him by Evan.
What makes the story resonate so strongly with Greeks is that Fournier treats food the same way he treats basketball: collectively.
He asks fans where to find the best bougatsa pastry in Thessaloniki, what local dishes he should try in Patras and which grill house in Piraeus stays open late enough for postgame meals. In return, supporters across Greece compete to introduce him to the best flavors their hometowns have to offer.
The interaction has become a viral online game between the basketball superstar and Greek fans — not only Olympiacos supporters, but anyone with a sense of humor and strong opinions about food. Even EuroLeague’s official social media accounts have joined in, teasing Fournier with photos of souvlaki before games.
And Fournier happily plays along.
On the left are “masourakia” — crispy cream-filled pastry rolls that Evan described as mind-blowing — and on the right, his timeless obsession: Panorama triangles.
He now shares food recommendations with fellow French players, praises Greek pasta dishes as being “on Italy’s level” and regularly thanks fans for helping him enjoy life in Greece even more deeply.
That connection only intensified after Sunday night’s dramatic victory over Real Madrid, when Fournier delivered a standout performance that helped carry Olympiacos through one of the club’s toughest moments of the season. Fans crowned him the Final Four MVP, chanted his name as he lifted the trophy and celebrated him as one of their own.
For many Olympiacos supporters, Fournier is no longer just a foreign star player.
He is family.
And Fournier seems to feel the same way.
Nearly two years into his life in Greece, he has openly said the country feels like a second home — and hinted that he may stay far longer than the four years included in his contract with the Piraeus club.
One thing, however, already seems certain.
According to Fournier himself, he eats better in Greece than he ever did in France.
