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Giannis Antetokounmpo forced to evacuate arena in Greece after fans threw smoke bombs, flares

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated16 Jun 2023

Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo forced to evacuate arena in Greece after fans threw smoke bombs, flares

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was forced to evacuate the OAKA arena in Athens, Greece, on Thursday after unruly Panathinaikos Athens fans threw smoke bombs and flares at the bench of the Olympiacos Piraeus, with 12:46 left to play and Olympiacos leading 63-35.

In the best-of-five series, officials delayed the third quarter of Game 4 for about an hour. Due to the lack of visibility caused by the number of smoke bombs thrown onto the court, the game was cancelled.

Referring to a few NBA betting sites, the Bucks hold third-shortest odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Sportsbooks are giving the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics better odds.


Furthermore, Athens was disqualified. Olympiacos had a 2-1 series lead and was declared the 2022-23 Greek League champions by default. However, the chaos continued after the contest was terminated.

Fans were told to evacuate the arena. Giannis Antetokounmpo was among the evacuees. Not to mention, spectators were spotted throwing various objects onto the protective net surrounding the court.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was forced to evacuate OAKA arena in Greece after fans threw smoke bombs, flares onto the court

Additionally, a number of Panathinaikos fans headed towards the exit doors of OAKA, but a few disorderly fans stayed behind to destroy seats, proceed to throw more trash onto the court, and to empty fire extinguishers.

Technological equipment — such as replay tablets, computer monitors, and cameras — from the officials’ table were either stolen or destroyed on the spot, according to multiple reports. Giannis Antetokounmpo was not in the area when this occurred.


In Game 4, Olympiacos (30-1) led 48-26 at halftime over Panathinaikos (22-11). Before the game was cancelled, Olympiacos’ Alec Peters and Sasha Vezenkov scored 11 points apiece. Lefteris Mantzoukas finished with six points for Panathinaikos.

Moreover, the Panathinaikos-Olympiacos rivalry in Greece dates back decades. So, this is not first incident involving Panathinaikos fans. In 2015, spectators were filmed attempting to storm the Olympiacos bench during a game at OAKA. Olympiacos players were forced to evacuate. Watch the YouTube video above.

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