Hornets’ Miles Bridges wins the first Rick Bonnell Award

Observer Staff
·2 min read
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Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges is the winner of the inaugural Rick Bonnell Award.

The award, set up by the Hornets and voted on by local media, is given to the player who best represents himself and the franchise with professionalism and cooperation with regard to his interactions with the media.

“Miles is very accommodating of his time and never says no to media requests. He understands the role the media plays as a direct conduit to the fans and graciously fulfills the obligation,” said Rod Boone, The Charlotte Observer’s Hornets beat reporter. “He expands on his thoughts and speaks from the heart. All of those things are deeply appreciated and I know Rick would approve of Miles being the first recipient since he interacted with him so much during his first three seasons in the league.”

A recent example of Bridges’ cooperation took place earlier this week in Miami ahead of the Hornets’ game with the Heat. Due to flight delays out of Charlotte, Boone wasn’t able to make it to South Florida in time for the Hornets’ shootaround at FTX Arena. But Bridges made time to speak with The Observer at the team’s hotel before having to leave for the game.

Bonnell covered Charlotte’s NBA franchises for The Observer starting with the original Hornets’ first season in 1988 through the 2020-21 season. Bonnell died June 1, 2021, at age 63, shortly after the Hornets reached the postseason for the first time since 2016.

“I’m honored to have been selected as the winner of the first Rick Bonnell Award,” Bridges said. “Rick covered me for the first three years of my career, and we had a great relationship. I appreciated his professionalism, his fair questions and his knowledge of the NBA. Thank you to the media members that cover our team. I respect the job that they do, and I appreciate them selecting me for this award.”

In addition to establishing the Rick Bonnell Award, the Hornets set up an annual $10,000 scholarship for journalism students attending universities in North Carolina in honor of Bonnell, as well as renamed Spectrum Center’s media entrance after him.

The Rick Bonnell Award and Rick Bonnell Memorial Scholarship will be awarded annually.