Veterans Vucevic, Fournier trace friendship to Europe
When Evan Fournier was traded to the Orlando Magic in 2014, he brought with him a top-knot undercut hairdo, which became an immediate target for his new teammates.
Four years later, one teammate in particular has not let Fournier, whose hairdo has changed over time, live it down.
“Except for the hair [laughs] … that never gets old … he’s good,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic said of the fellow European and Magic teammate.
The two have formed a bond during their time with the Magic and as much as they sometimes try to downplay it, the camaraderie between them is undeniable. They are constantly razzing each other and they have a great time.
Fournier celebrated his 26th birthday Monday, just five days after Vucevic turned 28. When asked what Vooch gave him for a present, Fournier was quick with the quip.
“Absolutely nothing. He’s a terrible friend,” Fournier said.
It was just the start back-and-forth jabs.
“OK, that’s not true,” Vucevic fired back. “Because my wife, two or three years ago, for my birthday she made this cake and he loved it, so she wanted to make the cake [for Fournier], but since he’s gluten-sensitive, he can’t have it.”
“So I had nothing,” Fournier responded.
“That was my gift and it’s not my fault that he’s all weird and stuff and he can’t have it, so …,” Vucevic said.
So, Vooch, Fournier give your birthday?
“Nothing … not even the thought of something. I had the thought. He had nothing,” Vucevic said.
With that of banter, it’s tough for anyone to believe their friendship isn’t special — even if they say it’s not.
“I think people make it too big of a deal that we’re friends. There are other people in the world who have friends,” Vucevic said of what did to you for
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THE BUZZ: as Fournier laughed. “It’s not just us. … I know it’s rare in the NBA because [players] switch teams a lot and you don’t necessarily get time to really know somebody, but it’s happened before. We’re not like the first ones ever.
“I have other friends. He’s not my only friend.”
What helped them gravitate toward each other in the beginning was that they both speak French, so they immediately had two things in common — a language and a jump from Europe to the NBA. Fournier is from France and Vucevic is from Montenegro, but he grew up in Belgium.
“Definitely. We both speak French and it makes things easier. I feel like we have the same vision of the world, basketball and everything,” Fournier said. “We have a lot of things in common, so it’s made us closer, for sure.”
And that makes for a lot of good-natured ribbing most of the time.
“That’s just what friends do in general. You have to be able to joke around with each other,” Vucevic said. “I talk about his hair and he talks about stuff that I do . ... It’s always for fun and it’s never like mean.
“… D.J. [Augustin] is part of the group. He’s trying to get into our friendship. He wants to be friends with us pretty bad.”
They didn’t get much opportunity this past offseason to hang out, with Fournier going back to France, traveling and also getting married. Vucevic was supposed to be in the wedding, but with his own wife early in her pregnancy, she could not travel and he had to miss his good friend’s wedding.
“He’ll be there for my next wedding,” Fournier said, again laughing.
When Fournier first came to the United States as a first-round draft pick of the Denver Nuggets in 2012, he did not speak much English.
“His English got way better than when he got here. He had that fake French accent at first,” laughed Vucevic, who came to the States as a senior in high school and played college ball at USC, so he learned the language much earlier.
“Come on. It was not bad,” Fournier said of his English.
Recently, Fournier has tried to give Vucevic pointers on how to be a wine connoisseur.
“He’s getting into wine now, so we can finally talk about wine,” Fournier said.
“He thinks he’s the expert because he’s from France,” Vucevic said.
Always throwing punches, that’s what they do.
The friendship definitely helps when one or both are experiencing hard times, such as the Magic’s 2-6 start to the season, or when it just comes to having someone to hang out with on the road during the NBA grind.
“Life on the road … it’s good you can have someone to spend time with at dinner or shopping or whatever,” Fournier said. “We just have a very good chemistry and it shows on the court.
“… And it’s good to get your mind off basketball once in a while.”
Magic head coach Steve Clifford said their bond helps them work fluidly together on the court.
“They definitely have a chemistry and the fact that they have played a number of years together, that all goes with it,” Clifford said. “Within any team or offense, those little two-man plays that they’re comfortable with, you need to develop a bunch of those within a team, and they certainly have done that between them.”