Mike James breaks the All-Time EuroLeague scoring record, passes Vassilis Spanoulis

It finally happened. The moment many knew was coming this season finally happened. With a signature double-cross, sidestep, mid-range jumper AS Monaco guard Mike James scored his 4,457th career EuroLeague points to become the competition's all-time leading scorer. While not related, two people with the last name James now top both the EuroLeague and NBA scoring charts.

James made his EuroLeague debut 10 seasons ago with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. He joined Baskonia after bouncing around lower-level and second-division European basketball teams in the early stages of his career.

In James' second season with Baskonia, he helped lead them to the EuroLeague Final Four alongside Darius Adams, Ioannis Bourousis, Adam Hanga, and Davis Bertans. They would lose to Fenerbahce in the semifinals but are remembered as one of the most entertaining teams in the history of the competition. Bourousis posted on his Instagram story about James breaking the all-time scoring record.

After the Final Four appearance with Baskonia, James joined Greek Giants Panathinaikos and helped them win the Greek Basket League and Greek Cup championships. James moved to the NBA the next season, signing a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns. He became the first player to sign a two-way with the Suns in franchise history and the first player to sign such a contract after spending multiple seasons in Europe. With the Suns, James also became the first two-way player to start with the team that signed him and was eventually converted to a standard NBA contract.

James was waived in December of that season, then briefly signed with the New Orleans Pelicans before returning to Panathinaikos to finish the 2017-18 season. James signed with Olimpia Milano for the 2018-19 season and even though he won the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague top-scorer trophy, the club pushed him to mutually terminate his contract with them following the arrival of Ettore Messina in the summer of 2019 who declared James was not a part of his plans. The two are still not on good terms, which James made clear earlier this season.

After Milano, James signed with CSKA Moscow. He played nearly two full seasons for the club before leaving in April of 2021 and signing with the James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving Brooklyn Nets.

James joined AS Monaco in the summer of 2021, and the rest is history. He led the team to their first-ever EuroLeague Final Four appearance in 2023 and has them on pace to do so again this season. Even at age 33, James is having an incredible season and seems poised to continue to be a dominant EuroLeague star for seasons to come. With the scoring title, James is locked into EuroLeague history for eternity. Should he lead AS Monaco to a EuroLeague championship, he may go down as the EuroLeague GOAT.