Mike James confirmed the reports about him considering an exit from Monaco and nearing a deal with Olympiacos in the summer of 2023. He also recalled his mindset in his first days in Europe and a wild night out which upset Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos.
In an interview with sportal in January 2024, Mike James addressed the 2023 summer rumors about a potential transfer to Olympiacos Piraeus.
"It was just interest, I guess," James noted, trying to downplay the reports.
"Greece is a basketball country, so just anything that has to do with basketball thing kind of gets blown out of proportion. I was never out of contract with Monaco, so I do not know what the avenues were, what was going on, or what was written every day. I never really got out of the contract, they never cut me, I never left or any part of that," he continued.
"I was always under contract with them. I was always in Monaco. Rumors happen in Greece, and then Greek people, in general, get excited and just talk around, and that's how papers and everything happens.
I respect Olympiacos and what they are doing. I do not know what my future holds for me, but they have a great organization, do great things, and play hard. Obviously, I respect coach [Giorgos] Bartzokas a lot," EuroLeague's all-time top scorer added.
However, the 34-year-old guard presented a different version of the facts while being hosted by his ex-teammate at Monaco, Chima Moneke, and journalists Dionysis Aravantinos and Giorgos Efkarpidis on the 'Triple Threat Show' podcast.
Asked about how close he was to signing with the Reds last summer, James admitted:
"I think I was closer the summer before because I really wanted to leave Monaco. I didn't really agree with a lot of the stuff that was going on and I asked to leave. I wanted to go, and at the time, the only place that was available to me was Olympiacos," the prolific scorer stressed, confirming the reports.
Olympiacos Piraeus / Schedule
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Olympiacos Piraeus
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz"It was right when Sasha [Vezenkov] went to the NBA," he recalled.
"So, I think that's where I was going to end up. I think it was pretty much done, but obviously Monaco didn't let me go, so I stayed."
James went on to confirm BasketNews' report about him seriously considering a departure from Monaco.
"And this summer, I was thinking about leaving again, to be honest," he admitted, and explained that he needed to have an operation, which made him reconsider his options.
"I thought about it [leaving] for real, but once I figured out during the EuroLeague playoffs that I probably needed back surgery, I didn't want to go to a new team fresh off a back surgery," he said, referring to Olympiacos.
"Like not be ready to play until maybe the first game of EuroLeague -- and if I play, it's going to be 10-15 minutes. So, I don't want to bring that much baggage into a new place.
When you sign me, a lot of expectations come with that. I don't want to put that on the team to feel pressure, or feel like I need to play a certain time. So, I think it was beneficial for me to stay here, where they already knew that I needed surgery and I felt like they weren't going to rush me back."
Talking on the podcast, James also recalled his attitude towards European basketball when he first landed in the Old Continent to play for Zagreb in 2012.
"It's boring. I had a bad approach to it, to be honest. I approached it like I was doing jail time," he conceded.
"I thought I'd get home soon. I had a terrible approach in my first year. My second year, I opened up a little bit more and tried to get out the house more and explore stuff.
When Americans come here, if basketball is good, eveything else is going to be good. But also having a distraction, like a release outside of basketball when it's going tough, is a big thing for how you function as a human," he reflected.
The veteran guard weighed in on the biggest stereotype in the US about the EuroLeague.
"It's like if you play in the EuroLeague, you just aren't good enough for the NBA," he said.
"Like he got cut, he can't be in the NBA. I feel like that's incorrect. Especially if you have had a bad situation or experience in the NBA and you come over here and have a good experience and enojy it, it's hard to go back to chase something where you had a bad experience."
In a recent interview, James Gist revealed that he told Panathinaikos to sign Mike James while he was still playing for Kolossos Rhodes (in 2013).
"He always told me, 'Bro, I told them to sign you,' but at the time you couldn't play for two Greek league teams in the same season. So, I couldn't go there and play in the Greek league.
Obviously, for a person that's not proven, why would you only get him for EuroLeague? So, I understood it. But going to Baskonia was a great thing for me. If I'd been at Pana, I would have had a lesser role and wouldn't have played that much at the beginning. That was obviously a better situation for me," James admitted.
Monaco's leading man once again referred to his excellent relationship with Panathinaikos owner, Dimitris Giannakopoulos.
"I think he respected that I always played well in big games and that I was a straightforward, honest person," James said.
"He respected that and he liked me as a person. We've always had a good communication and every time I see him, it's always love. He's always been really cool with me, so I'm grateful that I got to play for him."
Asked to share a behind-the-scenes story with DPG, James said the only really funny story he's got wasn't only involving himself.
"So, I'm not going to share too much," he warned.
"But I remember we were in trouble for going to the casino late one night, and we were wilding, to be honest. We had a bottle and we stayed way too late. And then, he got kind of mad about it, which is understandable. When I woke up the next day, I was like, 'Why did we do that?' We were there, we lost a lot of money...
I like him. He's straightforward. He doesn't send like pigeons to talk to you. He's going to come to say it right to your face, 'Hey man, that was bad. Don't do that,'" James said.
Full interview:
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