Getty Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns, James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers
Mikal Bridges was originally drafted no. 10 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA Draft before being traded to the Phoenix Suns on draft day. Bridges, who grew up in Philadelphia, was none too pleased with being traded away by the team he grew up rooting for.
In an appearance on “The CJ McCollum Show,” Bridges revealed what went through his head between getting drafted by his hometown team and getting traded.
“I walk out of there and they told me the news and I was literally pissed off. It took me days after to be appreciative of the moment,” Bridges said. “I was pissed off that whole night. I didn’t go out, I stayed in my hotel room. I was that mad.”
Bridges later admitted that he didn’t have any reason to be mad overall because he accomplished his dream of getting into the NBA even if he didn’t get to play for the Sixers.
“For what? Like, what am I pissed off about? Like, I went top 10, and my freaking dream. So that took me days to like really get over that. It was wild. It was really wild.”
Mikal Bridges on being drafted and traded by 76ers:
“That was the biggest thing all of my senior year was Philly has the 10th pick, they’ll be dumb if they don’t get Mikal… It was just set up for me to go home.”
“I walk out of there and they told me the news and I was…
Bridges will get to face off against his hometown with his current team, the Brooklyn Nets, starting on April 15.
Tyrese Maxey Praises Mikal Bridges For Development
While talking with Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire, Tyrese Maxey praised Bridges for how well he has come along as a player since joining the Nets.
“I wouldn’t say it’s surprising. The team that he was on with the Phoenix Suns, he played his role. They would run plays for him down the stretch of games. I remember when we played them here, they ran a couple of set ATOs for him down the stretch in the fourth quarter, so he’s always had game,” Maxey said.
Maxey added that, because of Bridges’ development, the Sixers’ focus on defense will be stopping him.
“Now, he just has to shoot more, has more volume, more confidence, more plays run for him, the offense kind of flowing through him. So hats off to him. Gonna be a tough job for us to stop him. We’re gonna play him not just one-on-one but a five-man defense. He’s gotta see a crowd every single time that he catches the ball.”
Doc Rivers Praises Mikal Bridges’ Development
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers also praised Bridges for how well he has come along as a player since joining the Nets.
“He’s shown a little bit of different things,” Rivers said, per Carlin. “He’s done all the things that he’s doing in Brooklyn that he did in Phoenix. He just didn’t have the opportunity to do that a lot and he didn’t have the way to do it and consistently. In Phoenix, he did it when they gave it to him. If he wasn’t going, they could go away from him and then someone else, (Devin) Booker or Chris Paul can do it.”
Rivers added that Bridges has shown he’s capable of being as good as he is on a regular basis.
“Here (in Brooklyn), he has to do it every night and no one ever knows if a guy is capable of doing that. He’s proving that he is.”