Mike James (basketball, Born 1990)

Michael Perry James (born August 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague.

He was a high school basketball standout playing for Grant High School in Portland, and played college basketball for Eastern Arizona College and Lamar University. James was the first player in NBA history to go from a two-way contract to a regular contract, all while never being sent down to the NBA G League in the process.

James started his professional career in Europe in 2012 and is five-time All-EuroLeague selection. He was the EuroLeague scoring champion in 2019. Since 2024, James is the all-time scoring leader in EuroLeague history. He was also named EuroLeague MVP of the 2023–24 season.

Early life and career

James was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. While in Portland, he played basketball for Grant High School under coach Tony Broadous. In 2007–08, as a senior, he was ranked the No. 3 player in the state and No. 184 overall. He was also only recruited by Division III universities at the time. James averaged 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals per game. The team went on to win the 2008 Oregon state championship, defeating Oregon City for it.

College career

Eastern Arizona College

James started his college career at Eastern Arizona College, a national junior college where he played under coach Maurice Leitzke. In his first year, he averaged 20 points per game shooting 42 percent overall, 33.3 percent from three-point range and 78 percent free throws. He was named all-conference and all-region teams as well as being ranked No. 40 best junior college player by Rivals.com. As a sophomore, he was the fourth-leading scorer in the NJCAA Division I recording 26 points per game. In addition he contributed 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Lamar University

In 2010, James transferred to an NCAA Division I school, Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas where he played under coach Steve Roccaforte in 2010–11 and coach Pat Knight in the 2011–12 NCAA season. Playing a little over 18 minutes a game, he averaged 12.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals. He led the team in scoring, even though he only started two out of twenty-four games for the season. He registered a 52-point game on January 4, 2011, against Louisiana College, which the Lamar Cardinals won 114–62, breaking the previous record of 50 set by Mike Oliver in 1980. In addition, he broke Lamar University's Montagne Center record for most points scored in a single game with 52, field goals made with 18, field goal attempts with 35, three-pointers made with 11, and three-point attempts with 21. In his senior season (2011–12), he averaged 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.6 steals per game shooting 45.3 percent overall. One notable game of his was against the 2012 NCAA champion University of Kentucky, in which he scored 29 points. His senior season ended in the first round of the 2012 NCAA tournament with a loss against Vermont. By the end of his season, he was named All- Southland First Team, Southland Tournament MVP and Southland Conference Player of the Week three times in four weeks. He had majored in general studies during his time there.

Professional career

Overseas career

In August 2012, James signed with Zagreb of Croatia for the 2012–13 season. In December 2012, he left Zagreb.

In February 2013, he signed with Hapoel Galil Elyon of the Israeli second-tier league for the rest of the season.

In July 2013, James signed with Paffoni Omegna of Italy under their DNA Silver Basket league name for the 2013–14 season. That season, they finished in fourth place for the DNA Silver portion of the league.

In August 2014, James signed a one-year contract with Kolossos Rodou of Greece. On December 2, 2014, he left Kolossos and signed with the Spanish club Laboral Kutxa Baskonia of the Liga ACB for the rest of the season.

In July 2015, James joined the Phoenix Suns for the 2015 NBA Summer League. That same month, after a successful Summer League performance, he re-signed with Baskonia for one more season. During that season, Saski Baskonia would reach the EuroLeague Final Four, losing to the Fenerbahçe Ülker and the PBC Lokomotiv Kuban for a fourth-place performance.

On July 3, 2016, James signed with Panathinaikos in Greece for the 2016–17 season. That year saw him perform his best work in the EuroLeague yet. He helped the Panathinaikos win both the Greek Cup title and the Greek Basket League championship in the 2016–17 season. He was later named the Greek Basket League's Most Spectacular Player that year as well.

Phoenix Suns (2017)

On July 3, 2017, James signed with the Phoenix Suns and joined the team for the 2017 NBA Summer League. In the 2017 Summer League, he led the team in points and assists, averaging 20.5 points off of 53.8% shooting and 5.0 assists per game, as well as recording 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 33.2 minutes per game for the six games the Suns played during the event. James's contract with the team was a two-way affiliate deal, their first in franchise history. He also became the first player to sign a two-way contract in the NBA after spending multiple years overseas in international leagues. While James was eligible to split his time between Phoenix and their Northern Arizona Suns G League affiliate, he never joined the G League team during his two-way contract. James made his NBA debut on October 18, 2017, against the Portland Trail Blazers, recording 12 points that night. James became the first player to sign a two-way contract to also start with the team that signed him on, as he became the starting point guard on the October 23 game against the Sacramento Kings under interim head coach Jay Triano

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