Thomas Walkup names the toughest player to guard in the EuroLeague / News - Basketnews.com

Walkup named Mike James as the toughest player to guard in the EuroLeague due to his persistence to score on each and every possession.

Credit: IMAGO/ANE Edition - Scanpix Credit IMAGO/ANE Edition - Scanpix

Thomas Walkup is known as one of the best defenders in the EuroLeague. Last year, he was considered a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate over Edy Tavares.

Thomas Walkup

MIN:38.75PTS:17 (46.15%)REB:2As:5ST:3BL:0TO:3GM:1ProfileEuroLeague2023/2024

The 30-year-old begins his third season with Olympiacos Piraeus. Last summer, he played for the Greek national team for the first time in his career after obtaining Greek citizenship earlier in the year.

After six seasons in the EuroLeague, Walkup already knows the ins and outs of the competition. Asked who the toughest player to guard in the tournament is, he immediately came up with an answer.

"Mike James is difficult. You have to be on 24/7 when guarding him. You can't just play five good defenses in a row because if you let him see a good look on the sixth, possessions seven through twenty are going to be really, really difficult for you," he said in an interview with COSMOTE TV's Pick n' Roll show.

"You have to always be on to not let him catch that rhythm," Walkup explained.

Walkup and James have shared a fair bit of games against each other, highlighted by a playoff series between Olympiacos and James' AS Monaco during the 2021-22 season, Game 5 of which was visited by James' former teammate Kevin Durant.

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