One of the best guards in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history will stay put with the news that Mike James re-signed with AS Monaco for two more seasons. James (1.85 meters, 31 years old) averaged 16.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 38 EuroLeague games last season, helping Monaco reach the playoffs and come within one win from the Final Four in the club's debut in the competition. He ranked fifth in PIR (18.1), third in scoring and assists and led the league in fouls drawn (5.1 per night). James was chosen as the EuroLeague MVP for March, becoming the first-ever player to win the award with three different teams - AX Armani Exchange Milan, CSKA Moscow and Monaco. James was chosen to the 2021-22 All-EuroLeague First Team.
Superstar guard James stays in Monaco
James joined Monaco from CSKA Moscow, where the guard had spent most of the previous two seasons. In the 2020-21 campaign, James poured in 19.3 points per game to go along with 5.7 assists for an index rating of 19.7 over 27 games. He was the second-best scorer in the EuroLeague in the 2020-21 season, led the league in PIR and ranked sixth in assists. James finished the 2020-21 season with Brooklyn in the NBA where he was worth 7.7 points and 4.2 assists in 13 games. He won the Alphonso Ford Trophy in 2018-19 as the EuroLeague’s top scorer (19.8 ppg) with Milan - gaining him a spot on the 2018-19 All-EuroLeague Second Team.
After playing college basketball at Eastern Arizona JC and Lamar, James began his European career with KK Zagreb in Croatia. He also played in Israel, Italy and Greece before making his EuroLeague debut with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2014. He played one season with Panathinaikos Athens before a brief stint in the NBA with Phoenix and New Orleans, after which he returned to Panathinaikos. He helped Baskonia reach the 2016 Final Four and won back-to-back Greek League titles with Panathinaikos in 2016 and 2017, the year in which his team also claimed the Greek Cup. James ranks seventh on the EuroLeague's all-time scoring list (3,318), is 11th in assists (917) and 12th in three-pointers made (390).