TJ Shorts Takes the Helm at Valencia Basket

Valencia Basket has reached an agreement with American point guard TJ Shorts, who holds a North Macedonian passport (1.75m, Irvine, California, 10/15/1997, 28 years old), to join the men's first team for the next two seasons through June 30, 2028.

The player arrives as a free agent after spending last season with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, from which he parted ways at the end of June. With the Greek club, he played his second season in the EuroLeague and was named MVP of the Play-in game prior to the quarterfinal matchup between the green team and Valencia Basket. In his first experience in Europe's top competition, leading Paris Basketball, Shorts was selected to the EuroLeague All-Star Five with an average of 19 points on 36.1% from three-point range and leading the competition with 7.3 assists and 22.8 efficiency rating.

During his season with the Greek team, he added to his trophy collection with a Greek Cup title, adding another piece to the collection he has been accumulating in recent seasons. The new Valencia point guard has helped his teams win at least one trophy in each of the last four seasons. Shorts was a key piece in Telekom Baskets Bonn's 2023 Basketball Champions League title, as well as in Paris Basketball's 2024 EuroCup and French League Cup and 2025 French League and Cup. Evidence of this is that he has accumulated more than twenty personal recognitions, individual awards, and statistical leaders in the different competitions he has played since the 2021-22 season.

With Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens last season, he played a total of 75 games, averaging 9.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for 9.9 efficiency rating. However, in EuroLeague games in which he played at least twenty minutes, his numbers rose to 14 points and 4.4 assists for 15.4 efficiency rating.

Sustained Growth Toward the Elite
Timothy Neocartes Shorts II began to stand out in basketball at Tustin HS, modeling himself after Chris Paul. In 2017, UC Davis gave him the opportunity to spend his junior year with them and he became a key piece, being named Freshman of the Year and Big West Conference Player of the Year in the same season. In his final college year, 2018-19, he even increased his numbers to 15.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists and repeated on the Big West All-Star Five, but his first professional steps came in Europe.

Latvian BK Ventspils was the first team to bet on him in the 2019-20 season and with a solid performance in the local league, but especially standing out with 14.6 points and 6.3 assists for 20.1 efficiency rating in the FIBA Europe Cup, leading his team to the quarterfinals, which caught the attention of Towers Hamburg. With the German team, he played alongside Kameron Taylor and began to show he could excel in a stronger championship like the Bundesliga with 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.

A Flood of Recognitions and Titles
In the 2021-22 season, Shorts remained in Germany to join Crailsheim Merlins and his breakout was definitive. 20.6 points on 41.7% from three-point range, 3.4 rebounds, and 7 assists to be the BBL's leading scorer and selected to the Bundesliga All-Star Five. 17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6 assists for 18.4 efficiency rating to be the leading scorer in the FIBA Europe Cup. With his signing by Telekom Baskets Bonn the following season, Shorts began to accumulate trophies in addition to individual honors. Named German League MVP (18.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.3 assists) and All-Star Five member, Shorts led his team to win the regular season and reach the Bundesliga Finals for the first time in over a decade. In the Basketball Champions League (19.5 points on 37.9% from three-point range, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists for 18.9 efficiency rating), he led his team to the title with 29 points in the final against Hapoel Jerusalem and was recognized on the BCL All-Star Five and named MVP of both the regular season and the Final Four.

Shorts was one of the players who, along with coach Iisalo, made the move from Bonn to Paris Basketball for the 2023-24 season and success continued to follow the new Valencia player's career. He was named French League MVP and All-Star Five member after being the leading scorer (16.1), second-best passer (6.7 assists), and second-most efficient (18.6 rating). He led his team to their first LNB Finals, which they lost to Monaco. He was named MVP of the League Cup that Paris Basketball won in the final against Nanterre. And he helped the Parisian team win their first European title by adding a EuroCup with the best historical record (20-1) and being selected to the All-Star Five and MVP of both the regular season and the finals with a stat line of 18 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists (tournament's leading passer), and 1.9 steals for 23.4 efficiency rating per game.

Proving His Level in the EuroLeague
With the Parisian team, Shorts made his EuroLeague debut and in his first season in Europe's top competition, he led the French team to their first EuroLeague Playoff appearance after being selected to the EuroLeague All-Star Five, named MVP of the Play-in with 23 points and 9 assists at Real Madrid, and leading the competition in assists (7.3). He was also one of the most important pieces for Paris Basketball to achieve their first French League and Cup double, repeating on the LNB All-Star Five and as French League MVP, but adding in this case the Finals MVP with a stat line of 18.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 8 assists (competition leader) for 24.2 efficiency rating per game.

This performance opened the possibility for him to play last season with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. With the Greek team, his contribution in the fifteen EuroLeague games in which he had 20+ minutes went up to 14 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists for 15.4 efficiency rating. One of those games in which Shorts had a more important role was the Play-in matchup against AS Monaco, in which the point guard scored 21 points and finished with 24 efficiency rating to be named Play-in MVP. Shorts' numbers per 40 minutes in the EuroLeague were 20.2 points and 7.3 assists.

In the Greek League, Shorts played a total of 31 games with a stat line of 11.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists for 12.6 efficiency rating and contributed to Panathinaikos winning the Greek Cup title, the last of the trophies that has entered the personal collection of the new Valencia point guard.