It was a perfect evening for the AS Monaco guard
Mike James and a historic night: How it unfolded and what’s next
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7 Mins read
Everybody had been talking about it for so long, yet when Mike James put AS Monaco 38-31 ahead against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade to become the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorer, everybody inside Salle Gaston Medecin collectively came together to recognize one of the best players in competition history.
With that make, James moved to 4,457 points – 2 clear of Olympiacos Piraeus legend Vassilis Spanoulis. The American had actually tied the Greek’s total of 4,455 with a couple of free throws and one had to wonder if he would break the record from the free-throw line.
Instead, what we got was a shot straight out of the Spanoulis and James handbook: a right side-step jumper. It is a move that Spanoulis made famous and one that James himself told Basket News that he’d added to his arsenal after seeing its success. We have seen the 33-year-old make that shot time and time again over the years, but it felt rather poignant that it is also a shot we associate with Spanoulis. A passing of the torch, if you will.
How James’s night unfolded
All eyes were on James right from tipoff and, needing 12 points to surpass Spanoulis coming into the contest, it didn’t take long for him to trim that gap. With 7:24 remaining in the first quarter, the Monaco star used his speed to get away from Branko Lazic before being fouled by the Zvezda guard as he got his shot up. Not only did James’s shot fall but he also converted the and-one free throw. Now he needed just 9 more points.
It felt like everything was geared up for James to get his business done early, but a couple of shots hit the rim and came back out. Then, with 3:54 to go in the first, a couple of made free throws cut the required distance to 7.
Disaster almost struck shortly after, though, as James came up limping as he looked to stop on a dime. There were 3:07 minutes on the clock at that point and, clearly affected by a left ankle issue, he withdrew to the bench with 2:36 to go. Understandably, there was a sense of fear among the Monaco fans, not only that he may not reach the record on Thursday night but that this injury could affect the team’s chances moving forward.
Well, with 8:47 remaining in the second, James reentered the game. Twenty seconds later, he drained a floater after stepping in from the three-point line. Now he needed 5 more points.
He would further reduce that to 3 points after another make, this time after forcing Adam Hanga to backtrack before pulling up and scoring with 7:37 to go. And with 6:40 left on the clock, James tied Spanoulis’s record with a pair of made free throws. That gave him plenty of time to get the job done in the remainder of the contest.
It took James another 2 minutes and 47 seconds, but he finally made history with the aforementioned right side-step jumper from mid-range. That led to a pause in the game as James soaked in all of the love and affection. However, in the post-game press conference, he revealed that he was still in game mode when that stoppage occurred.
“I was just so focused on making sure we won because I didn’t want to break the record and then we lose, then it’s kind of a weird feeling,” James commented. “It’s like, ‘Can he really be happy?’ So I was just more focused on the win, to be honest. I was trying to make sure the attention on me breaking the record didn’t distract us from focusing on what really mattered. Just happy we got the win and now we can go and celebrate.”
James ended up scoring another 7 points, all in the fourth quarter, to finish with 20 points in a 98-80 triumph, Monaco’s seventh in a row. On a night in which he went atop the mountain in terms of scoring, it was rather fitting that he would also finish as the game’s leading scorer.
The Monaco fans made sure that the Mike James love-fest continued long after he’d broken the record, too, as they chanted his name with 1:20 left in the game after he made his way to the bench for the final time with the hosts 98-76 ahead. It didn’t stop there, though, as they kept chanting his name until the final buzzer sounded.
What’s next for Mike James?
James is still at the very top of his game and it doesn’t look like he’s going to slow down any time soon. So, after reaching this milestone of becoming the EuroLeague’s most prolific scorer, what’s next?
The answer is short and sweet: winning a title. James is one of the best-ever players to have not won a EuroLeague title and given Monaco is in the midst of a seven-game winning streak that has seen it catapult up the standings, it’s not unreasonable to think that he’s got a good shot this year.
After all, having guided Monaco to its first-ever playoff appearance in 2021-22, then its first-ever Final Four in 2022-23, the trajectory suggests a first-ever title in 2023-24. But, obviously, it’s not as easy as that, even if that is the goal for James and co.
“Clinching the playoffs and then, you know, trying to get to the Final Four and trying to win a championship,” he noted in the post-game press conference. “That’s been our goal all year. We went to the Final Four and didn’t get a chance to compete for a championship. I think we all want a shot at it.”
The question therefore begs: would James switch his status as the competition’s all-time leading scorer if it meant winning a EuroLeague title?
“I don’t know. I would appreciate a EuroLeague title, for sure, but it’s hard to say, honestly. A lot of people win EuroLeague titles, but there’s only one top scorer, so selfishly I kind of want both.”
Given everything that James has done in his EuroLeague career and the joy he has brought many people, including this writer, with his play on the court, a EuroLeague title – and a first MVP award – would be very much deserved. This special season by James certainly has a few more chapters to be written.