Mike James gave an extensive interview where he spoke about how close he came to joining Olympiacos, his favorite title with Panathinaikos at SEF in 2017, his relationship with Dimitris Giannakopoulos, and his thoughts on the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of Euroleague.
The American star of Monaco shared his thoughts with Amerikanos24.
On Dimitris Giannakopoulos:
“We’ve always had a good relationship. He respected the fact that I always played well in games and was sincere. We always had good communication, and every time I see him, there’s love. I’m grateful that I played with him. The only funny story isn’t just about me, so I won’t say much. We got into trouble because we went to the casino late one night. We had a bottle and stayed very late. He got upset about it, which was understandable. The next day, I was mad at us too. We were there, lost a lot of money, but it was okay. I liked how Giannakopoulos was always straightforward. He’d come and tell you exactly what he wanted to your face. I’ve always liked that.”
On His Favorite Title with Panathinaikos:
“My favorite title was the first one, because we won it in Olympiacos’ home court. There were incidents, and two minutes before the end, we went to the locker rooms. We had already started celebrating and drinking champagne. Our jerseys were all messed up, I remember. They called us back to finish the game after the fans had left. I think both teams shot once. Then, on the way back, the fans were already in the streets, and we celebrated together. Some of my friends were also in Athens, so it was even better.”
On How Close He Came to Olympiacos:
“I don’t know if it was that summer. I think the previous one, I was close, because I really wanted to leave Monaco. I didn’t like some decisions and wanted to leave, and Olympiacos was the only option for me. It was shortly after Sasha left for the NBA. I thought it was a done deal, but Monaco wouldn’t let me go. So, I stayed, and that summer, I seriously considered leaving, but when I realized I needed back surgery, I didn’t want to join a new team saying, ‘Oh, great, we’ve signed, but I need back surgery and won’t be ready until the start of the Euroleague, and if I’m ready, I’ll have to play 10-15 minutes.’ I didn’t want to bring that burden to a team, especially since when someone signs me, they have expectations from me.”
On Who Is the GOAT in Euroleague:
“I don’t care about that. I think there are different eras and styles in Euroleague. In the beginning, they just moved the ball around. Then it was all about pick-and-roll. Then Spanoulis changed that because they played through him. Now, it’s all about isolation and one-on-one plays. I think the style matters. I have better stats than many because I have the ball a lot more. Spanoulis played in Spanoulis’ system, while I bring the ball down and call the system. It’s hard to judge. Judging solely by titles is crazy to me. Spanoulis did something amazing because no one expected them to win. For me, what matters more is who would play better if you put them in their prime. If we’re going this way, we have to talk about Sloukas too. He’s not my favorite player, but he’s won everything. If we’re having this discussion, we need to talk about him too.”
