Anadolu Efes Istanbul has completed one of the biggest signings of the 2026 offseason by bringing in EuroLeague all-time leading scorer Mike James on a one-year contract with an option for an additional season.
The Turkish club announced the agreement on Saturday, July 11, adding the 35-year-old guard after the departure of Shane Larkin. James arrives from AS Monaco, where he spent the previous five seasons and established himself as one of the most productive players in European basketball history.
James joins Efes after another elite EuroLeague campaign in 2025-26, averaging 16.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 34 games for Monaco. His arrival gives Efes a primary creator following Larkin’s exit and reunites him with former Monaco teammates Matthew Strazel and Jordan Loyd.
The American guard enters his 12th EuroLeague season as the competition’s career scoring leader with 5,916 points in 362 games, averaging 16.3 points per appearance. He also owns the highest career Performance Index Rating total in EuroLeague history with 6,181 PIR and has made more free throws than any other player with 1,347.
James ranks second all-time in EuroLeague three-pointers made with 665, third in two-pointers made with 1,287, fourth in assists with 1,772 and tied for fifth in steals with 367. He has been selected to five All-EuroLeague teams, including First Team honors in 2021-22 and 2023-24.
His most successful individual season came in 2023-24, when James was named EuroLeague MVP after averaging 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists for Monaco while shooting 43.9% from the field and 38.0% from three-point range.
James spent five seasons with Monaco after joining the club in 2021, becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in EuroLeague games played (195), points (3,220), assists (1,074), PIR (3,523), three-pointers made (348), two-pointers made (694) and free throws made (788).
Before his Monaco tenure, James played for several EuroLeague clubs, including Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Olimpia Milano and CSKA Moscow. He also briefly appeared in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2020-21 season before returning to Europe.
For Anadolu Efes, the signing represents another major move in a roster rebuild following a disappointing 2025-26 EuroLeague campaign. Efes finished the regular season 12-26, 19th in the standings, missing the playoffs after several seasons as a perennial contender.
The club has already reshaped its roster this summer, adding Dario Saric, Strazel, Santi Yusta and Bruno Fernando while losing Larkin, Saben Lee, Rolands Smits, Nick Weiler-Babb, Vincent Poirier and Sehmus Hazer.
James will take over a significant offensive role previously held by Larkin, who averaged 15.3 points and 4.2 assists in 12 EuroLeague games last season before leaving the club. Efes will rely on James’ scoring, playmaking and late-game experience as it attempts to return to the upper tier of European basketball.
