Never mind an Englishman in New York, have you heard the one about an American in Tel Aviv?
Latest Basketball Stories
No issues
Now, fresh off an impressive campaign that saw him named to the All-Euroleague Second Team, James has signed a contract extension that will keep him with his current employers for a further four more years.
He knew little about Israel before pledging to move there in the first place over five years ago, though has had no issues living in an area of the world that can, at times, be volatile to say the least.
"I went in blind," he confessed. "You only hear and see the nonsense that is in the news and on the television, so your view on Israel is always a negative one. So when I came I was able to shoot those negatives down and see a great place, meaning I enjoyed it even more.
"Stuff like that happens in every country, but no one is going to watch the news if they say everything is great. You have to show that stuff because that's what people watch.
"But I've been there for six years and I've got my family with me - we love it there."
Indeed, such is James' satisfaction with his lot right now that he plans to finish up his career in Europe, before then returning to his homeland to find "a profession that he's good at" whilst building a home for his wife and twin boys in North Carolina.
Until then, though, there is some basketball to play, and not just on the actual court.
The virtual Shawn James and the rest of his Maccabi team-mates will come to consoles with the launch of NBA 2K's 2014 version on October 1 - and the real Shawn James is looking forward to it.
"I'm not a gamer. Before touching the controllers to try out NBA 2K14, I had never touched a PS3 controller," he said. "A few years ago I did try to bring my Super Nintendo to Israel, but it blew a fuse.
"They made me a little uglier in the game than I am in person. But I'll take it. Now (back home in America) they're going to go crazy.
"I'm only going to play with my team. I'm going to play with me and I am going to play every position on the court. I'm going to do everything that my coach tells me not to do; shoot threes, play at point guard. I'm going to do whatever I want."
NBA 2K14 is released in Europe on October 4 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
