The long road to the NBA was completed in the summer of 2017. It was bittersweet experience: on the one hand he played as he was sure he could do, on the other hand the experience was very short. After scoring another 32 points against Memphis in the Las Vegas summer league, James signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns. The “two-ways” are new contracts that allow NBA teams to have 17 players under contract at any time. These players can go back and forth to the G-League teams provided that their stay with the NBA team does not exceed 45 days. James did not even spend a day in the G-League. “Mike is a survivor – says his former coach Leitzke – He had to fight and claw to prove himself. This experience is what made him what he is. All his life he has been underestimated and throughout his life he played with a chip on his shoulder “.

At 27, James was the third oldest player in the Suns roster in spite of being a rookie. The season began in a weird way: coach Earl Watson was immediately fired in favor of the assistant Jay Triano. A controversy that involved the star point-man Eric Bledsoe ended up with his trade to Milwaukee. With Bledsoe out, James started in a game in Sacramento and scored 18 points, went 8 for 10 from the field and dished seven assists. In that game he scored with less than 15 seconds left the crucial basket. He ended up playing 32 games in Phoenix with 10.4 points on average. He scored 26 points against Minnesota, 25 against San Antonio and 24 against Brooklyn, his best scoring outings. And finally … it was released a week after his contract became a “regular” one.

Phoenix had just signed a new combo-guard, Isaiah Canaan, and releasing James allowed him to explore the market in search of a new home. He was signed by New Orleans where he played four other games but with no real opportunities. So he asked to be released in order to go back to Europe, to Panathinaikos, to win the Greek title again. In the eight EuroLeague regular season games he managed to score 23 points (7/7 two-pointers) against Real Madrid, 18 in Milan against Olimpia, 27 against Maccabi. In the four playoff games that he played against Real Madrid he scored 19.0 points on average with 44 total points in the two Athens games. He also dished 4.3 assists per game and converted 57.1% of his two-pointers, 40.0% of his threes (a much better percentage than he had in the regular season), but he wasn’t able to eliminate the eventual European champions.

And still his last game with the green uniform of Panathinaikos was a memorable one. It was in OAKA, game 5 of the Greek League final. His 18 points were the most in the game and allowed his team to win the Greek championship. But James was looking for stability, looking for “his” house. With Olimpia, the feeling has always been very strong for years. He had been close to coming to Milan a year ago when he opted for the NBA. Now a new story is about to begin.

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