TJ Shorts: 'Monaco vs. Paris is going to be a true rivalry'

Round 6 brings a French derby between AS Monaco and Paris Basketball. The Rivalry Game of the Week is a rematch of last season's French League Finals, as well as the first chance to see last season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP and BKT EuroCup MVP face to face: Mike James and TJ Shorts, respectively.

James is the reigning EuroLeague MVP, as well as the competition's all-time top scorer. He also led Monaco to a second consecutive French League title last season, downing Paris 3-1 in the finals. He believes Paris is an interesting project that is on the rise.

"Paris is a big market for us. It's always tough being a first-year team and trying to figure out how to navigate each game and try to figure out the fatigue factor," James says. "But hopefully they do a good job. I hope they have a good season besides against us."

Shorts led Paris to the best-ever EuroCup record, 22-1. He earned season MVP and EuroCup Finals MVP honors, dominating the competition like few players did before. Shorts sees Monaco as one of the toughest teams to beat, being a talented team that plays many times against his squad.

"Monaco, they are kind of at the top of the mountain, so we're kind of trying to climb to reach them. I would say, personally, Paris vs. Monaco is going to be the maybe the truest rivalry in the years to come," Shorts says about the rivalry. "We know what they've done over the years. We know the talent level that they have. The expectations are going to be the same. To try and put up a big fight to win the game."

Monaco hosts Paris at Salle Gaston Medicin on Wednesday at 20:30 CEST.