If you thought the NBA Finals were tense, the Greek League Finals would surprise you. It witnessed tempers flare both on the court and in the locker room. Here’s what happened: The high-stakes rivalry devolved into absolute hostility late in the third quarter when Olympiacos center Tyrique Jones targeted Kendrick Nunn and tried to choke the former Lakers player. However, the altercation didn’t end there.

Jones tracked him into the arena tunnel to land a hard punch to Nunn’s face. It was a violent confrontation during a winner-take-all Game 5 matchup between overseas powerhouses Panathinaikos and Olympiacos.

The flashpoint for the altercation began with exactly 3 minutes and 17 seconds remaining in the third period. Nunn, the offensive anchor for Panathinaikos, committed his fourth personal foul on Olympiacos power forward Sasha Vezenkov and immediately accused the former NBA player of flopping to draw the whistle.

In retaliation, Tyrique Jones rushed over to forcefully defend his teammate.

Jones and Nunn quickly came face-to-face, culminating in Jones wrapping his hand directly around Nunn’s neck to shove him backward. Game officials and arena security scrambled to separate the teams as a brawl broke out on the court.

Following an extensive video review, the officiating crew assessed Nunn a technical foul and hit Jones with both a technical and an unsportsmanlike foul, resulting in the immediate ejection of both players from the contest. That, however, was far from the end.

Cameras even followed them from the court to the tunnel, capturing the entire altercation escalate.

Greek League’s escalating tensions cost Kendrick Nunn twice

An ejection didn’t automatically diffuse the tension after the final buzzer. Not at all. As the Olympiacos players celebrated capturing the Greek championship title on the floor, Jones skipped it all to wait outside the locker room and ambush Nunn in the corridor. Despite security and staff between them, Jones was able to get to Nunn.

Nunn’s teammates attempted to intervene, but it was a unit of riot police that broke up the fracas. What followed was a loud confrontation between Panathinaikos players and the police officers. The cops then ensured that Jones safely exited the arena.

The physical assault caps off an incredibly tumultuous run for Nunn personally. Just one game prior, the HEBA Sports Judge handed a one-year stadium ban to Nunn’s partner and influencer, Blen Kiya, for her aggressive outburst during overtime of Game 4.

According to a disciplinary report that was released to the media, Kiya had crossed security lines near the Panathinaikos bench to pull referee Petros Papapetrou by his shirt sleeve while screaming profanities over a missed whistle. As she’s banned, she wasn’t present during this Game 5 altercation.

So far, the consequences for the players involved have not been confirmed. There are no reports on Nunn’s injury, or if he got hurt badly, either. 

Before transitioning his career across the Atlantic to emerge as one of the premier guard talents in Europe, Nunn had become a prominent role player in the NBA. He initially burst onto the scene as an All-Rookie standout with the Miami Heat before the Los Angeles Lakers bought his elite scoring traits with a two-year, $10 million contract in August 2021.

While a severe bone bruise completely sidelined him for his inaugural year alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Nunn eventually returned to the floor for Los Angeles in 2022. But things were about to change for him. A mid-season trade sent him to the Washington Wizards. His NBA career abruptly ended in 2023, and he made a swift transition to Europe.