By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
AS Monaco will be without Matthew Strazel for the decisive Game 5 of the Betclic ELITE Finals after the guard’s suspension was officially upheld on appeal. However, the reigning French champions could yet receive an unexpected boost, with speculation growing that Mike James may make a surprise return for the winner-takes-all showdown.
Strazel’s absence was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon when the appeal against his suspension was rejected, leaving Monaco without one of its key backcourt players for the title decider against Paris Basketball.
Despite James having missed Monaco’s last nine games, fresh speculation emerged after his name appeared on the Adidas Arena scoreboard ahead of Game 5. Interestingly, he was listed wearing No. 32—the number usually worn by Strazel—raising questions about a potential last-minute comeback.
Mike James sur la feuille de Monaco pour le match 5 de la finale de Betclic Elite, avec le numéro de Matthew Strazel @LNBofficiel pic.twitter.com/1fN2Drl4rP
— Yann Ohnona (@yohnona) June 23, 2026
The former EuroLeague MVP has not played since Monaco’s first playoff game against JL Bourg, following an ongoing dispute with the club over unpaid image rights reportedly worth close to €1 million. Since then, James has remained away from the team, making a return appear highly unlikely until… now.
Earlier on Tuesday, the American guard posted an Instagram story suggesting he was still in Monaco rather than traveling with the squad to Paris. While a flight from Nice to Paris takes less than an hour, James would normally have traveled with his teammates on Monday if he were expected to feature in the decisive game.
Even so, the possibility of a dramatic return has not been completely ruled out.
Fueling the speculation further, James later shared another cryptic Instagram story following confirmation of Strazel’s suspension. The post featured a childhood photo of Strazel wearing an ASVEL jersey, accompanied by LL Cool J’s classic Mama Said Knock You Out and its famous lyric: “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”
Make