Mike James exclusively on Sportish: The hug with Barzokas, Panathinaikos and the lively Obradovic

On a sunny December morning, just before the finale of 2023,… Sportish He was in beautiful Monte Carlo, where expensive yachts parked in the marinas and fast cars galloped through the narrow streets to steal five minutes of Mike James’ precious time.

Monaco’s multi-talented American guard is having what looks like a historic season, needing just 261 points to climb into first place among the EuroLeague’s all-time leading scorers and dethrone Vassilis Spanoulis, whom he greatly admires.

In addition to striving for this peak, which in the future he will appreciate much more than the moment he touches it, James referred to the upcoming match with Panathinaikos AKTOR (December 20, 8:00 p.m., Novasports Prime, Sportish’s Match Center ), in his recent embrace with Giorgos Bartzokas, in the cliché that he should not have good relations with his coaches, in Nikolas Miloutinov, Nick Kalathis, but also Dimitris Itoudis.

The first round of the EuroLeague regular season is coming to an end. Are you satisfied with the results so far and the overall picture of the team?

“Yes, we are tied for fourth place (8-6 record with Monaco, Partizan, Baskonia, Valencia and Maccabi) and that is good. We only lost one game in the French league. One of our key players (Sr. Jordan Lloyd) is in and out. He’s not playing as much as we would like, so that’s all we can ask for at the moment.”

In which areas do you think there is room for improvement?

“I think having Jordan Lloyd back will improve us a lot. When one of your best players is out for that long, the team adapts and finds other ways to win. But when he comes back and we have a full team, we will learn how to work, it will be good for us.

The next game is against Panathinaikos. How do you see that and how do you generally see the Greens this year?

“Another devil’s week, an important week because we are playing against two teams (Panathinaikos and Bayern) who are playing well at the moment. They play better.”

Apparently Panathinaikos has started to find its rhythm. Every week you want to play 2/2 and see if you can get a lead over the other teams, but in the EuroLeague it’s always difficult to do that.”

You have already played for Olympiakos this year and several times in previous seasons. How does it feel for the red and white this year?

“They play well. They play the same way as always. When you lose two guys like Kostas (Slukas) and Sasha (Vezenkov), it changes the dynamic a little bit.”

THE Kostas is dominant on the ball and creates ideas for others, which makes the work of other players easier and of course the way Sasha plays is very special. If you lose two great players, you won’t be able to perform the same right away. It takes time for new players to integrate into the system.

I think they did a good job. I love Milutinov, he is my husband and I am glad that he is there. If Nigel (Williams-Goss) comes back healthy, he will help them a lot because he is a man who takes responsibility.

But I think they play the same way. They pass and move the ball, but it hurts when you lose two players, especially because Nigel wasn’t fully fit this time.”

After that game, you hugged coach Bartzokas. Could this mean something for the future?

“After the game with Fenerbahce I hugged Saras (Jasikevicius), after the game with Partizan I hugged (Zelimir) Obradovic. I hug every coach after every game.”

Last week you played at Fenerbahce, immediately after the release of Dimitris Itoudis and the signing of Sarunas Jasikevicius. Did you expect such a development?

“No, it was a surprise for me. I didn’t know exactly what the situation was in the domestic league, but I was told that they had lost a few games. You know, quick reactions are common in Europe.”

People try to make sure they don’t feel bad. You won’t support a coach if he’s been gone for a long time.

Even though Itoudis is a top coach, he was relatively new at Fenerbahce, so they made this decision. I hope it’s right for them, we’ll see.

Of course Jasikevicius is also a good coach. He’s managed to lead his teams to the Final Four many times, so he’ll probably get there.”

Before this game you had a heated meeting with Nick Calathes, who by the way recently tweeted about you and said you were “tough” when you hit some threes towards the end of the game against Partizan. Nick is not very active on social media. In fact, his last Twitter post was in 2021 and it didn’t even have anything to do with basketball, but was about the Squid Game. What does Nick’s recognition mean to you and what is the relationship like between the two of you?

“Nick and I have a very good relationship. We have played against each other many times and have been teammates (at Panathinaikos) for two years. I think we played well together and understood each other completely.”

Since then, our relationship has evolved. We get together in the summer whenever we can and it’s really cool having him around. He has good energy, he’s fun. I think it shows on the pitch that we value each other. I will always love Nick.

The cliché for me is that I don’t get along with trainers

Another topic that often comes up is your relationship with coach Saša Obradović. Why do you think this happens?

“I don’t know, it’s Obradovic, so everyone wants to talk about him. Still, people like to talk about me. So it’s an easy transition.”

He’s another coach we caught talking on camera (like Bartzokas), so people thought one and one made two.”

I meant your coach. Sasha Obradovic. A lot has been written about your relationship. Why do you think this still happens?

“Because there is a stereotype around me that I don’t get along with coaches. For one reason or another, people see it that way. Saša Obradovic is generally lively and slick.”

I have moments like that too and people automatically think that it puts us in conflict. It’s a simple story. Me and Sasha are fine.

If the regular season ended today. Who would you give the MVP award to, yourself or Toko Shengelia? Or maybe to someone else?

“I don’t know it. I think it’s still too early for that. I can think of arguments that speak for many players. Selfishly I would give it to myself, but I can understand why someone would give it to Toko.”

Last question, but no less important. They recently became the third all-time leading scorer in the EuroLeague, passing Juan Carlos Navarro. Now 261 points are needed to defeat Vassilis Spanoulis, who is currently at the top. I know you value him very much. How important will this success be for you?

“I think it will mean more in the future than it does now. It will reflect (my value). I don’t want to get too deep and lyrical, but I am who I am and I come from where I come from.” . (I think about) this whole trip and my time in the competition that is the second best in the world (PP behind the NBA).

So once I get to the top, I probably won’t appreciate it as much as I would later. Obviously, beating Billy at anything is amazing because of who he is and what he means to basketball.

Everyone knows who he is. In a not so poetic sense, but poetic at heart, it will eventually mean a lot to me.