Valencia Basket has strengthened its backcourt by signing former All-EuroLeague guard TJ Shorts to a two-year contract, adding one of Europe’s most productive playmakers after a season in which he helped Panathinaikos AKTOR reach the EuroLeague Playoffs.
Shorts averaged 8.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 43 EuroLeague appearances for Panathinaikos during the 2025-26 season, playing a reduced role compared with his breakout campaign in Paris. The Greek club finished seventh in the regular season at 22-16, won the Play-In Showdown and advanced to the playoffs before losing a five-game series to Valencia Basket.
The move reunites Shorts with Valencia after he faced the Spanish club in that playoff series. Valencia entered the 2025-26 EuroLeague postseason as the No. 2 seed with a 25-13 regular-season record, finishing behind only Olympiacos, before defeating Panathinaikos 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
Shorts arrives with a proven EuroLeague résumé. In the 2024-25 season with Paris Basketball, he averaged 19.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game over 37 EuroLeague games. He led Paris to an eighth-place regular-season finish, a road victory over Real Madrid in the Play-In Showdown and a playoff appearance against eventual champion Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.
His production earned him EuroLeague MVP of the Month honors for November 2024 and a place on the All-EuroLeague First Team. He also won the French League MVP award for the second consecutive season.
Before his EuroLeague breakout, Shorts established himself as one of the most decorated guards outside the competition. He guided Paris Basketball to the 2023-24 EuroCup title, averaging 18.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.9 steals in 23 games while earning both EuroCup MVP and EuroCup Finals MVP honors.
A season earlier, Shorts led Telekom Baskets Bonn to the 2022-23 Basketball Champions League championship, collecting BCL MVP and Final Four MVP awards. He also earned German League MVP honors after averaging 18.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game in the competition.
Valencia is making changes after losing several key contributors from its 2025-26 roster. Jean Montero, who led the team with 14.4 points and 4.8 assists per EuroLeague game, is among the departures alongside Darius Thompson, Jaime Pradilla, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui, Braxton Key, Sergio de Larrea and Isaac Nogues. Head coach Pedro Martinez also left the club, with Xavi Albert taking over through 2028.
