The EuroLeague's all-time leading scorer discusses his love for the game and his evolution
Mike James, Monaco: 'Basketball inspires me to want be better at it'
It has taken Mike James of AS Monaco less than 10 full seasons playing in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to become the scoring king of the competition.
That accomplishment came in Round 28 at home against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade as he surpassed another great in Vassilis Spanoulis, who had 4,455 career points, with a post-game total of 4,464 points. James is now looking to keep making history by enlarging a figure that will surely be difficult to beat in the future.
"I always try to just get better every day and improve myself," James says. "You never know where it takes you. And I guess where it took me is here, today."
His evolution
In 273 EuroLeague games with five different teams, James has averaged 16.5 points for his career. However, the new scoring king doesn't settle for anything yet because, as he acknowledges, it has been a long path of learning and evolution, and it will keep being that way for as long as he keeps playing.
"I am still the same person as when I came in," James explains. "It's just [that now] I understand different things. I am just more masterful at certain things than I was when I first came here."
Love for the game
In his 10th season in the league, James is leading AS Monaco in his third season with the club, which is also how many seasons the club has been in the EuroLeague. After a playoff appearance in the first season and a trip to the Final Four in the second, James has led the team to fifth place in the standings so far this season and looks to go the extra mile to reach the ultimate goal this season, always learning from the game.
"Basketball, in general, inspires me to want be better at it," James concludes. "Watching other people succeed (...) it's a beautiful thing to watch. Just talented people be good at what they are talented at."