Spanoulis’s tactics and James’s leadership on the floor clinched the club's second semifinal in three years
The synergy between Spanoulis and James led Monaco to another Final Four
Artikel
3 Lesezeit
When two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague legends join forces, great things may occur on the floor and that’s precisely what the connection between Vassilis Spanoulis and Mike James has offered us this season. Having broken Spanoulis’s record by becoming the competition’s all-time leading scorer last season, James saw his former opponent take up the reins of AS Monaco back in November.
The duo would lead their team to a fourth-place finish that secured them a home-court advantage, which proved to be crucial in a playoff series against an unyielding FC Barcelona. Despite injuries to key players throughout the regular season and during the postseason, the Catalans bounced back from 2-0 down and sent the series to Game 5.
The pressure automatically shifted to Monaco, but when things get tough, the tough get going.
Having dropped Georgios Papagiannis from the gameday roster in each of the four first duels against Barcelona, Spanoulis opted for his former teammate when it mattered most and the Monaco center delivered with a season-high 17 points.
"When I talk to him it is like I talk to myself”
Papagiannis’s pick-and-pop ability resulted in two huge triples in the fourth quarter, where the hosts struggled to maintain the lead. The encounter turned into an exchange of blows and when games become back-and-forth affairs, it’s always the clutch players who step up.
Unsurprisingly, Spanoulis trusted James to handle the vast majority of the possessions in the last 6 minutes and the fellow EuroLeague icon didn’t disappoint his head coach. A James bucket tied it at 74-74 before the Monaco guard connected with Papagiannis for an alley-oop slam that put their team in front.
Kevin Punter made 2 from the charity stripe with 1:23 left on the clock, but James came to the fore again, dribbling past Tomas Satoransky and netting a tough layup off the glass in front of Jabari Parker to clinch the victory and Final Four participation.
“I’m very proud of Mike,” Spanoulis said in the post-game press conference. “I’m very proud because we’ve had a lot of discussions, lots of talking. I’m always honest with him. I talk to him from my personal experience and this helps me a lot to give him what I think is the right advice. When I talk to him, it is like I talk to myself.”
Game Videos
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Diallo posterizes Parker! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Follow the Monaco-Barcelona Game 5 post-game press conference
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Mike James: 'We like to make it tough'
- 01:00
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Georgios Papagiannis: 'I was staying ready'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | Playoffs Game 5 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:10
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James & Papagannis connection! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Papagiannis dunks off a James dish! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Blossomgame flies for the put-back slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Diallo turns defense to offense! Motorola Magic Moment
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The Fantasy Challenge Podcast dissects Game 5
- 00:36
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Jabari Parker: 'The Barcelona fans are amazing'
- 00:54
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Youssoupha Fall: 'We will keep that same energy'
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FC Barcelona-AS Monaco | Playoffs Game 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:20
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Diallo's big dunk! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:07
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Satoransky's huge block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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James finds Theis! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Blossomgame's two-handed dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:48
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Willy Hernangomez: 'Friday, we have another big opportunity'
- 00:24
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Kevin Punter: 'It was a must-win for us'
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FC Barcelona-AS Monaco | Playoffs Game 3 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:18
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Parker seals the outcome! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:23
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Parker's huge buzzer-beater! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
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Diallo's big block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:18
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Brizuela finds Parra! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:56
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Alpha Diallo: 'It's really hard to beat us'
- 00:27
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Monaco Showtime! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:15
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Mam Jaiteh: 'If we play like this defensively, we will do good'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | PO Game 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Tarpey’s big driving dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:28
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Jaiteh’s poster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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From defense to slam-dunk offense! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Jaiteh’s diving hustle! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:07
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Diallo’s chasedown block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:21
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Parker flushes on Barca fast break! Motorola Magic Moment,
- 00:26
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Tarpey's big block! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:58
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Daniel Theis: 'Matthew Strazel sets the tone for our defense'
- 00:55
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Elie Okobo: 'We showed great character today'
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AS Monaco-FC Barcelona | PO Game-1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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Theis throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:11
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James turns defense into offense! Motorola Magic Moment
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Xavi Pascual, Boniface N'Dong remember 2010 title triumph on The Crossover
- 00:45
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Kevin Punter: 'True testament of us being a team'
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FC Barcelona-Virtus Segafredo Bologna | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:20
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Willy posterizes Toko! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:56
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Mike James: 'We can celebrate a little bit'
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-AS Monaco | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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The Fantasy Challenge Podcast prepares for the end of the regular season
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The EuroLeague & Friends gang are joined by Nick Calathes for episode 22
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AS Monaco-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:26
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Jabari Parker: 'We just wanted it more'
Indeed, the bucket that James made in crunch time was reminiscent of the numerous baskets that Spanoulis had made throughout his career as a player in game-winning situations.
“I’ve been in a lot of situations,” James admitted in the post-game press conference. “I think that experience makes you comfortable. And experience gives you lessons and lets you be able to adapt quickly. I’ve been in a lot of game-winning situations, a lot of tight games at the end. We were in tight games last year and I wasn’t as aggressive as I needed to be and I didn’t like that feeling for injuries or whatever the case may be. So, this year, feeling good, I wanted to have the ball in my hands, be able to make the decision and be as aggressive as possible. Coach felt the same I guess, put the ball in my hands, trusted me to make smart decisions and it worked out.”
James finished the duel on a game-high 20 points and averaged 16.6 for the series. Most importantly, under Spanoulis, he has been sharing the ball better than ever, having recorded 6.4 assists in the five games against Barcelona. The synergy of two greats produced magic on the court.
“I also wanted to get [to the Final Four] for my coach because this is his first year coaching [in the EuroLeague],” James added. “I’ve played against him for a long time, known him for a long time. When you’ve got special relationships with people, you want to succeed for them as much as I want to succeed for my teammates. It feels special and kind of an irony that I got to go to the Final Four with somebody that I competed against, somebody that he’s historically great and somebody that I actually broke his record last year. I think it’s a poetic moment.”
The Game 5 victory over Barcelona has set up a rematch of the 2022-23 Final Four semifinal, in which Monaco will take on Olympiacos Piraeus in Abu Dhabi. In that game, James’s side hit the ground running and took a 29-41 lead into the second half. Yet, Olympiacos outscored Monaco 27-2 in the third quarter to clinch a spot in the championship game.
“Experience always makes you better,” James noted. “Everything you go through in life prepares you for the next step. Even last year’s playoffs is going to help us. This year’s playoff series is going to help us the way we fought and maybe we kind of rested that we had it won already. Also, playing the same team again, Olympiacos. It seems inevitable that we're always going to meet them no matter what happens. It’s almost like fate. We’ve got to take care of our business this time. I think last time we got happy and thought it was over, but they are a good team. They play hard for 40 minutes and we’ve got to do the same.”
Meanwhile, Spanoulis is aware that emotions will be running high when he meets the Reds in the semifinal. Yet, he also knows that from the moment his team takes to the floor, Olympiacos will be nothing but an opponent – a barrier to overcome on his way to glory. And taking into account the winning mentality that turned him into a basketball legend, Spanoulis will not hold back against his former team.
“When I go to the Final Four, I want to go and win it,” Spanoulis declared. “I don’t care if I go a lot of times. If I go to two [Final Fours], I want to win two. If I go to 10, I don’t want to lose 10, or win one. Everybody knows what Olympiacos means for me. This is my second home. I spent there half of my career or more. I got incredible love from the fans. I will have this always in my heart. But now I’m proud that I’m here with Monaco and I’ll give everything for 40 minutes to win.”