As per usual, KBP is being over-dramatic. I've attended Greek A1 League games and I'm not a fan of any Greek team. In the last Pao vs. Oly games there were some coins thrown at the Olympiacos bench and coaches but that was all. The situation in that voleyball game went out of control so they're punishing the fanbases and being over-cautious here, but it's not exactly the norm. The reason why greek league games generally don't have anybody in the stands is simple because nobody cares to attend. Even regular games from Pao or Oly don't have huge attendences. Btw, those guys are generally soccer fans first and foremost, most of them only attend the Oly vs. Pao derby and I bet many of them don't even know baskeball rules right.
That said, I prefer the European games surrounding environment to the NBA ones. The NBA has the better product on the floor, but the Euroleague has a better one on the stands (some NCAA attendances are also solid). To attend an important game in Badalona, Tel-Aviv or Belgrade is an awesome experience. It's also a reason why there are still some upsets in European Basketball, in spite of the lack of financial parity: a team like Partizan can win some guys solely due to how intimidating their home crowd is. They beat some much better teams because they feed off their fans energy and their opponents get "scared".
Not really. It was far worse in the 80s, for example, with the British hooligans. Nowadays the situation is still bad in some eastern european countries and in Italy (and in some South American), but it's not a big issue anymore. Keep in mind that some sport rivalries in Europe and America are more than a just a game because they're only a cover-up for some deep social, political or ethnic rivalries. I agree with you though: banning for life (or for an extended period, like 20 years) is the way to go.
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