By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Mike James officially became the all-time top scorer of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, surpassing Vassilis Spanoulis and establishing a record that will be difficult to break, especially considering he has more time to enhance it.
Speaking to EuroLeague about his achievement, Monaco’s star player mentioned his role models in European basketball, with one of them being the player he recently surpassed.
“When I first got in, I really liked Sergio Llull, Nando De Colo, Milos Teodosic, Keith Langford, Tyrese Rice, Malcolm Delaney… As I grew into the league, I think obviously Spanoulis was great to watch, Diamantidis was amazing,” James said.
Who would win in a one-on-one game?
“One against one? I’d probably kill him, but not because he’s bad or anything like that. I am more of a one-on-one player, and he manipulated pick and rolls really well. When he gets switches, he kind of got space to get shots off. One against one is more my element. He doesn’t really pick people to play one against one; That’s kind of what I do, and I guess that’s more of my thing than his.”
James also commented on how playing in Europe changed him.
“It just allowed me to grow up even faster. I was already maturing faster than most people around me, but then just being here and having to be on your own. I had to start from a baseline of zero and build yourself up day to day. It allowed me to mature, grow, and figure things out. To navigate through pains and hardships, and good times and bad times. That allowed me to figure out exactly who I was, really early in life.”
Last but not least, where is it easier to get buckets, in the NBA or EuroLeague?
“The dynamics of how Europe is built, with the rules and the smaller court, and no defensive three seconds, the actual idea of scoring in Europe is tougher, just because it is a little more physical, with how the rules allow you to play. So, in those aspects, yes,” Mike James concluded.