Mike James named 2023-24 EuroLeague MVP / News - Basketnews.com

Mike James wins the 2023-24 EuroLeague MVP Award after averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 19.4 PIR over 39 games.

Credit: MOURAD ALLILI/SIPA - Scanpix Credit MOURAD ALLILI/SIPA - Scanpix

The wait is officially over for AS Monaco star Mike James. The American guard, who has just finished his 10th EuroLeague season, has been named the league MVP for the first time in his career.

Points this season

47%81,8Points made:81,8Accuracy:46,7%Place in standings:8Record max:107Record min:59Best scorer:Mike JamesTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

James was a consistent offensive threat throughout the regular season and didn't have a single-digit scoring night in 34 appearances.

His season averages mark 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 19.4 PIR over 39 games this EuroLeague campaign, including five playoff duels against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.

James finished as the second-best EuroLeague scorer this season behind Markus Howard. He also ranked seventh in assists with 5.1 and boasted 4.1 rebounds per game, one of the top averages among guards.

During the season, the 33-year-old also etched his name in EuroLeague history by becoming the league's all-time leading scorer, surpassing the legendary Vassilis Spanoulis. Over his career, James has scored 4,623 points in 282 EuroLeague games.

Despite leading Monaco to a commendable third-place finish in the regular season, the team fell short in the playoff series against Fenerbahce, concluding their campaign in five games.

James has been a perennial contender in the MVP conversation in recent seasons, but this day marks his first-ever receipt of the prestigious award.

A mainstay in the Monaco organization since 2021, James' accolades also include winning the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy in 2019 and earning selections to the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2022 and 2024, as well as the All-EuroLeague Second Team in 2019 and 2023.

James started his EuroLeague career with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, which he helped reach the Final Four in 2016. He went on to play for Panathinaikos Athens, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, and CSKA Moscow before joining Monaco.

Mike became the first American player to receive the MVP award since Anthony Parker claimed it in 2005 and 2006 for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The list of EuroLeague MVP winners starts with Parker, the only player to claim the award twice.

Theo Papaloukas of CSKA was the 2006-07 MVP, followed by Ramunas Siskauskas also of CSKA (2007-08), Juan Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona (2008-09), Milos Teodosic of Olympiacos Piraeus (2009-10), Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos (2010-11), Andrei Kirilenko of CSKA (2011-12), Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos (2012-13), Sergio Rodriguez of Real (2013-14), Nemanja Bjelica of Fenerbahce (2014-15), Nando De Colo of CSKA (2015-16), Sergio Llull of Real Madrid (2016-17), Luka Doncic of Real Madrid (2017-18), Jan Vesely of Fenerbahce (2018-19), Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2020-21), Nikola Mirotic of Barcelona (2021-22) and last season's winner, Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos.

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