Nets’ Mikal Bridges Explains Anger Toward 76ers Years Ago

Brooklyn Nets forward and former Villanova standout Mikal Bridges thought he was going to stick around and continue his playing career in the pros with the Philadelphia 76ers.

During the 2018 NBA Draft, Bridges had his name called as he became the 10th overall pick to the Sixers. After putting on his hometown’s hat, Bridges was living out his dream.

Unfortunately, the exact dream was short-lived. Bridges remained an NBA player, but he was re-routed to the Phoenix Suns. As the Sixers flipped Bridges’ draft rights to the Suns in exchange for incoming rookie Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first-round pick, Bridges couldn’t help but feel negatively toward the Sixers.

Joining ‘The CJ McCollum Show’ this week, Bridges recalled that emotional night. After explaining how excited he was to join the Sixers before learning he would be traded, Bridges admitted that the sudden switch made him feel negatively towards the Sixers for quite some time.

“I was literally pissed off,” Bridges said. “Like, actually pissed off, and it took me days after to, like, be appreciative of the moment.”

Bridges explained that he had to remind himself that even though he didn’t get to play for his hometown team after all, he should feel happy about becoming the NBA’s tenth-overall pick.

“I didn’t go out,” Bridges continued. “I stayed in my hotel room. I was that man. 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.”

Bridges carved out a solid role in Phoenix. Since making his debut with the Suns, Bridges started in 242 of the 309 games he appeared in up until this year. Last season, he averaged 14 points while knocking down 37 percent of his threes.

This season, Bridges started in 56 games for the Suns, averaging 17 points per game. At the trade deadline, he was a primary piece in the package that landed the Suns Kevin Durant. Since landing in Brooklyn, Bridges has become the team’s top option.

In 27 games, Bridges averaged 26 points while knocking down 48 percent of his shots and 38 percent of his threes.

This weekend, Bridges will face the Sixers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. His bitterness towards the Sixers might be well in the past — but Philadelphia will probably assume he’ll use it as a motivational tactic for the series.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.