Nets’ Mikal Bridges discusses his ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment
Brooklyn Nets wing Mikal Bridges spent a little over four seasons with the Phoenix Suns after being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and subsequently traded to Phoenix. During that time, Bridges had to overcome a lot to start his career, including that moment that he, and every other rookie, realizes that the NBA is a league unlike anything else.
Being chosen as high as he was, Bridges had a lot of expectations for what he could do in the Association and rightfully so. The former Villanova Wildcat was one of those players in the draft that was almost universally regarded as a player who would succeed at the next level due to his skill set of being able to shoot the basketball and play effective defense.
Bridges had to eventually see what the NBA was about and he experienced that, as he says, against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bridges and the Suns faced the Thunder during his rookie season for the first time on Oct. 28 and while Phoenix lost 117-110, the native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a team-leading +16. Bridges explained why this game was his “welcome to the NBA” moment in a recent interview with the “Run Your Race” podcast:
“My welcome to the NBA (moment) was when Russ (Russell Westbrook) and Paul George, and (expletive) Steven Adams, man. Playing them, I’m just like, I gotta guard Russ. (He’s) gonna go at me, full speed. He’s gonna try to dunk me. He’s gonna bully me. Then, you got Paul George. He’s gonna try to mix me and try to make me fall. Then, you got Steven Adams. When I don’t guard him (Westbrook) one on one, I gotta get in a ball screen. Let him (Adams) set every screen. That was one game where I like walked in the locker room and was like, my body hurts. I’m just like, I just played an NBA game for real. That was like 10 games in. That’s my moment.”
Give this a listen.
Mikal Bridges on his “Welcome to the NBA moment”:
(via Run Your Race @TidalLeague) pic.twitter.com/QlhhvwF5Z6
— Thunder Muse (@ThunderMuse_) July 14, 2023
