Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
A major Mike James contract development is set to reshape the European free agency market ahead of the 2026 offseason. According to BasketNews sources, Mike James is set to become a free agent in the summer of 2026, one year earlier than previously anticipated.
James originally signed a contract extension with AS Monaco through the 2026-27 season in 2024, but sources say the deal was renegotiated at the end of last season, shortening its length. As a result, James will be eligible to sign a new contract with Monaco or explore opportunities with other teams next summer.
How do people react when you say you love playing abroad and were fine leaving the NBA? Shane Larkin: They're surprised. I mean, I think that's a natural reaction. I had a few incredible seasons over here and I had opportunities to go back to the league and I was like, "Nah I'm cool, like I'm good where I am"... and when people hear that, they don't understand what it is like to be one of the better star players in Europe. You have to really experience it to fully understand it, but I would explain it as if... I'm not comparing myself to any star player in the NBA at all, but like the way I'm sure Kyrie Irving was being treated in Cleveland is the same way that Kendrick Nunn is now being treated in Athens, the way that I'm treated in Istanbul, Mike James is treated in Monaco. You know, these superstar players live in these cities and they have these certain lifestyles that you wouldn't really understand it unless you were over here and you got to see it first hand.
EuroLeague star Mike James has committed to remain with AS Monaco, returning for the start of the 2025-26 season despite offseason interest from the EuroLeague and the NBA, sources told BasketNews.
Keith Smith: As part of the process to complete their offseason moves, the Brooklyn Nets renounced FA rights for LaMarcus Aldridge, Wilson Chandler, Mike James, De'Anthony Melton, Dennis Smith Jr and Ziaire Williams. Brooklyn will re-sign Williams with either cap space or the Room Exception.
Advertisement
Mike James could leave Monaco. According to BasketNews, a meeting between the player and the Monaco management is scheduled for Monday, it is not clear whether today or next week. Meanwhile, according to reports from Greece, Olympiacos is monitoring the situation. The Greeks had already followed Mike James last summer, now with Vasa Micic heading to Fenerbahce a new assault would be possible.
EuroLeague star Mike James could be on his way out of AS Monaco, sources tell BasketNews. James is currently exploring a potential exit from the club following an internal suspension handed down at the end of the French League season.
Mike, you've said before that this is your last contract — and I just don't believe it. Can you talk about it? Can you finally tell us that this is not going to be your last contract? Mike James: It finally might be, brother. I got two more years. Why does everybody want me to play longer? Leave me alone.
Mike James: 22, 23, 24-year-old guys that are considered stars are getting criticized for not winning a championship, when a lot of our favorite players didn’t win until they were in their late 20s. And it’s become a thing where now guys are like: “[Expletive], let me just at least get one so I’m not labeled like this for the rest of my life.” In a team sport — that is so frustrating. It makes people do things they wouldn’t have done in the past. Simple as that.
The All-25 EuroLeague Team is taking shape, with the third set of inductees being confirmed. Luka Doncic, Milos Teodosic, Dejan Bodiroga, Georgios Printezis and Walter Tavares join fellow honorees Dimitris Diamantidis, Mike James, Vasilije Micic, Anthony Parker, Sergio Rodriguez, Nando De Colo, Sergio Llull, Ramunas Siskauskas, Vassilis Spanoulis and Nikola Vujcic. The selection process combined the votes of EuroLeague head coaches who had won a championship, past All-Decade Team members and MVPs, media representatives and fans. The coaches and playing greats each made up 40% of the final vote, and the media and fans were 10% each.
Advertisement
"I feel like people talk about legacies too much. Me and Kev [Durant] are having a talk about that stuff all the time because people say a lot of stuff about his legacy and mine. So, you're telling me that in 20 years, we're going to look back at Kev and say, 'Oh, he wasn't one of the best to ever do it because he didn't win a championship without Steph [Curry].' That's what you're telling me? There's no way you're going to say that. There's no way in 20 years you're going to look back at me and be like, 'If he never won a EuroLeague championship or never made another All-EuroLeague Team, he wasn't that good because he didn't win a championship.'
During the summer, the 34-year-old guard signed a 3-year extension with Monaco, securing his stay with the club until 2027. James admitted that it might be his last contract. "It's a possibility, to be honest," James said when he was asked about retirement. "I think it was already getting closer to me, and then with the surgery I had this summer and still trying to get back to my normal self, I'm probably still like 80% of myself at this point. It's a rough feeling. So, I just want to call it quits."
Mike James On Approaching European Basketball "My real first thoughts were just like... I approached it like I was doing jail time. Like, I just need to be overseas, get my stuff right, and then I'll go back home soon. But that was a terrible approach to it. My first year, my second year, I opened up a little bit more and tried to get out the house more and explore stuff. So that helped me out. And as much as like, you know, when Americans come over here, basketball is like the tell-all, be-all—so, like, if basketball is good, everything else is going to be good. But having a distraction and a release outside of basketball when it’s tough is a big thing."