Timothy Neocartes "T. J." Shorts II[1] (born October 15, 1997) is an American-born naturalizedMacedonianbasketball player forParis Basketball of theLNB Pro A and theEuroLeague. Standing at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), Shorts plays aspoint guard.
Shorts played college basketball forUC Davis where he was named the Big West Player of the Year. He started his professional career in Europe in 2019 withVentspils and went on to play several one-year stints for different clubs. Shorts gained praise at the continent, winning the MVP award for theBasketball Champions League in 2023, and for theEuroCup in 2024.
Born in Irvine, California, Shorts became a Macedonian citizen and made his debut for theNorth Macedonia national team in 2022.
Shorts was born inIrvine, California, and received his first basketball by his mother at age 4.[2]
Shorts starred forTustin High School but received no Division I scholarship offers, so he opted to go the junior college route. He played two seasons atSaddleback College and averaged 20 points per game as a sophomore before transferring to UC Davis.[3] On February 6, 2018, Shorts had 31 points, seven assists and four steals in a double overtime victory againstLong Beach State after leading scorer Chima Moneke was suspended.[4] In a game against victory atCal Poly on February 15, he recorded atriple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. As a junior, Shorts averaged 15.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He shot .538 field goal percentage, ranking fifth in the Big West. At the conclusion of the regular season he was namedBig West Player of the year and Newcomer of the year, the first player in conference history to receive both honors in the same season.[5]
Following the close of his college career, Shorts signed withVentspils of theLatvian-Estonian Basketball League.[6] He also played in2019–20 FIBA Europe Cup with Ventspils, losing in quarterfinals of that competition before season was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.
On July 30, 2020, he has signed withHamburg Towers of Germany'sBasketball Bundesliga.[7]
On July 9, 2021, he left the German team Hamburg Towers.[8] On July 28, Shorts signed with theCrailsheim Merlins.[9]
On June 11, 2022, theCrailsheim Merlins announced, that Shorts is looking for a new challenge for the 2022/2023 season.[10]
On June 22, 2022, he signed withTelekom Baskets Bonn of the GermanBasketball Bundesliga.[11] On May 4, 2023, Shorts was given theBasketball Bundesliga Most Valuable Player award after leading Bonn to a first seed in the regular season.[12] On May 13, Shorts was also named theBasketball Champions League MVP of the2022–23 season after he had led the team to its first-everFinal Four.[13]
Bonn won their first-ever trophy as they defeatedHapoel Jerusalem in the final, behind Shorts' game-high 29 points. After the game, he was namedFinal Four MVP, his third MVP award of the season.[14] Bonn guard T. J. Shorts won theFinal Four MVP award, becoming the first player in league history to win both theseason MVP and Final Four MVP award in the same season. He scored 50 points in his two games, setting a new record for most points by a player, formerly held byKevin Punter (2018).[15] Shorts also set a record for most points in a final with 29 points.[16]
On July 8, 2023, he signed withParis Basketball of theLNB Pro A (BBL) on a two-year contract.[17] He was recruited by his Bonn head coachTuomas Iisalo who had already signed with Paris.[18]
On February 17, 2024, the team won theLeaders Cup, which was the first trophy in Paris Basketball's club history. In the final againstMonaco, Shorts recorded 23 points and 5 assists in a 98–93 upset victory; he was subsequently named the tournament's MVP.[19][20]
In the2023–24 EuroCup, Paris had its best international season to date and reached the club's first European title. On April 9, 2024, Shorts was namedEuroCup MVP as he was praised for leading Paris to a 20–1 record and having set a league-record for most assists in a season.[21]
On May 12, 2024, Shorts won theMVP Award of the LNB Pro A; the French league became the fourth league he was named the best player of. He also finished the season as the league'sscoring champion.[22]
Shorts was named theEuroLeague MVP of the Month in November 2024, after helping Paris to an eight-game winning streak in theEuroLeague.[23]
On October 31, 2022, Shorts was added to the roster ofNorth Macedonia's men's national basketball team.[24]
Growing up, Shorts was a fan ofChris Paul and he modeled his game afterTyrese Rice.[25] He wears number 0 as this refers to the zero scholarship offers he received after leaving high school, and again after leaving junior college.[2]
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