Explosive, determined and born to take shots in crunch time, Mike James has shined like few others in the second half of the decade while playing for four Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams. Last season, with AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan, James won the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy and was voted to the All-EuroLeague Second Team. In this one, he is leading CSKA Moscow’s defense of its EuroLeague title.
James made his EuroLeague debut with KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz midway through the 2014-15 season, surprising everyone with his tremendous athleticism. A year later, James ranked third in performance index rating during the playoffs to help send Baskonia to its only Final Four this decade, although Fenerbahce Istanbul won their thrilling semifinal in overtime. Next, with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, James made it to the playoffs with home-court advantage twice, in 2017 and 2018, but Fenerbahce and Real Madrid, respectively, stood in the way to the Final Four. James did better than ever, numbers-wise, in Milan last season, but did not reach the playoffs.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS
- All-EuroLeague Second Team 2018-19
- Top Scorer 2018-19 (19.8)
- EuroLeague February MVP 2018-19
- Led the EuroLeague in 3-pts made 2018-19 (70)
- Led the EuroLeague in free throws made 2018-19 (147)
Now with reigning champion CSKA, James once again is among the league’s top scorers. He ranks fourth among all EuroLeague players this decade with a 14.8-point average. Since his debut in late 2014, he has scored 1,859 points, second among all players in that span. Having proved he can carry whole teams, James has now set his future sights on winning the EuroLeague title.
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