Ivica Zubac and Dario Saric were involved in a nightclub brawl in Greece early Monday morning, shortly after being eliminated from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Footage from TMZ Sports showed Zubac in a heated altercation with someone at Bolivar Beach Bar, as others held him back. Saric then rushed to the scene to help Zubac, but was soon put in a chokehold and brought to the ground by another man.
NBA players Ivica Zubac & Dario Saric were involved in a bar fight near Athens, Greece early this morning (around 5:30 AM local time) — following their game (Team Croatia) against Greece.
Much of the confrontation was caught on video.
At one point, another man seems to put Saric… pic.twitter.com/Y72trC76Mn— michael j. babcock (@mikejbabcock) July 8, 2024
Zubac eventually backed off, and he and Saric were pushed towards the exit.
The Croatian Basketball Federation has since claimed their players were acting out of self-defence.
“While hanging out at a club in Athens, some of our players were verbally and then physically attacked, prompting them to defend themselves,” the federation told TMZ. “The incident was brief, thanks to the quick intervention of the club’s security staff.”
It remains unclear what exactly caused the conflict.
To rub salt into the wounds, Zubac and Saric will fly home having fallen one win short of qualifying for the Olympics.
Their Croatian team lost to Greece 80-69 in a do-or-die game for one of the final spots at Paris 2024.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for Greece with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists.