AS Monaco Basket superstar Mike James confirmed that he wants the next contract to be his last. The Portland-born guard explained talked about his future in the game ahead of AS Monaco’s competing in Leaders Cup Final-4 this weekend. James will enter free agency this summer as he set to complete three seasons in Monaco.
“We’ll take the time to chat at some point,” James said on a potential contract extension, via Basketnews. “I don’t know when it will happen, the season is still long but we live in the same place, they know how to reach me. We’ll have a conversation and see what we can do.”
James is the team’s face making Monaco a basketball hub in the last few seasons since he joined the team back in 2021. The Monegasques had their first EuroLeague Final-4 appearance with Mike James as the leading star and improved their team making it one of the most dangerous in the league through the last two years.
Then, James revealed that the next contract will be the last for him as a professional basketball player. That said, there were rumors regarding his future last summer where Olympiacos appeared as one of the possible destinations if he had elected to leave the Principality. However, James denied there were any talks regarding moving teams last summer numerous times this season.
James has been better than ever in a star-studded Monaco roster averaging 19.4 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds through 26 EuroLeague games being among the favorites to win this regular season’s MVP award. He also has a strong contribution in the French League as he’s posting 12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 19 games.
Mike James could make history in the EuroLeague this year
Mike James will definitely being remembered as one of the best players ever set foot in a EuroLeague court when it’s all said and done. More specifically, he will have the numbers and the records to prove as he set to become the competition top scorer this season surpassing Nando De Colo and Vassilis Spanoulis.
James admitted the next contract will be his last as he enters the late part of his basketball career. At 34, the former Panathinaikos, Baskonia and CSKA Moscow guard is set to sign a long-term contract this coming summer.
“As much as I love basketball, I sometimes get tired of being a basketball player, if that makes sense. So to keep it short, my next contract will probably be my last. That will be the end of my basketball chapter.”
Mike James has showed his willingness to remain in Monaco for the foreseeable future, it remains to be seen if the French League club will respond with a long-term lucrative deal offer as we approach toward the end of the season.
