Panathinaikos AKTOR BC is pleased to announce the signing of T.J. Shorts II on a two-year contract.

Timothy Neocartes (T.J. Shorts) II was born on October 15, 1997, in Irvine, California, USA. He stands at 1.75m and plays at the point guard position.

He began his basketball journey at Tustin High School, followed by a collegiate start at Saddleback College in the NCAA. After an impressive second season, during which he averaged 20 points per game, he transferred to UC Davis, from which he graduated in 2019.

His professional career began in Latvia with BK Ventspils (2019–2020), where he averaged 11.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He then moved to Germany to play for the Hamburg Towers (2020–2021), posting averages of 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

In the 2021–2022 season, he played for Crailsheim Merlins, where he emerged as the top scorer of the Basketball Bundesliga with 21 points per game. He also recorded averages of 3.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 2 steals per game.

His next stop was Telekom Baskets Bonn (2022–2023), marking his third consecutive year in Germany. During this time, he experienced a meteoric rise, becoming the undisputed leader of the team in both the Basketball Bundesliga and the FIBA Basketball Champions League. He was named MVP of both competitions. With Telekom Baskets Bonn, he celebrated winning the FIBA Basketball Champions League title and was also named Final Four MVP.

In the Basketball Bundesliga, he averaged 18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, while in the FIBA Basketball Champions League, he posted 19.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

In the summer of 2023, he signed with Paris Basketball, where he had an outstanding two-year stint, winning four titles: the LNB Championship (2025), the French League Cup (2024), the French Cup (2025), and the EuroCup (2024). During this period, he was also named LNB Elite MVP (2024, 2025), French League Cup MVP (2024), LNB Elite Top Scorer (2024), and EuroCup MVP (2024).

In the 2023–2024 LNB season, he averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. The following season (2024–2025), he improved his numbers to 16.9 points (on 39.4% shooting from three), 2 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1 steal per game. During the LNB Finals of the 2024–2025 season, he raised his performance even further, averaging 21.1 points (with 36.8% from beyond the arc), 2.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists, leading Paris Basketball to the first championship title in its history.

The 2024–2025 season also marked his debut in the EuroLeague, where he once again stood out with his impressive performances. Averaging 19 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1 steal per game, T.J. Shorts was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team and was the EuroLeague Play-In MVP. His 7.3 assists per game made him the top playmaker of the EuroLeague season.