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Former Sixers Pick Mikal Bridges Links With Bryce Harper, Phillies

Former Sixers' first-round pick Mikal Bridges spends time with Philadelphia Phillies star, Bryce Harper.
Justin Grasso|
Former Sixers Pick Mikal Bridges Links With Bryce Harper, Phillies
Former Sixers Pick Mikal Bridges Links With Bryce Harper, Phillies

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Philadelphia 76ersPhoenix SunsPhiladelphia Phillies

Phoenix Suns standout Mikal Bridges turned 26 years old on Tuesday night. The NBA veteran celebrated another year of life by spending time at Chase Field, the home of the MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, to watch the D-Backs take on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bridges might be at his current home in Arizona, but the former Villanova star hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Therefore, he attended the game on Tuesday night, looking forward to cheering for his hometown team, and even linking up with Phillies superstar Bryce Harper.

Bridges had quite the birthday. Although his team took on a disappointing 12-3 loss, Bridges had the opportunity to call Tuesday night’s game at Chase Field his own as the stadium celebrated Mikal Bridges Appreciation Day, an event that came to fruition through a bet the NBA wing got himself involved in.

Back in June, Bridges bet that if the Diamondbacks were to defeat the Phillies, he would attend a game at Chase Field against the Phillies rocking Diamondbacks gear.

If the Phillies won, Bridges gets a unique experience, including a personalized jersey, a ticket to batting practice, throwing out the first pitch, a stadium-wide “Happy Birthday” singalong, and a free churro dog for the official Mikal Bridges Appreciation Day, according to Arizonasports.com.

As expected, seeing Bridges spend time with the Phillies and continuing to cheer them on led to a bitter-sweet experience for Sixers fans.

During the 2018 NBA Draft, the Sixers went on the clock in the first round with the 10th overall pick. At the time, former Sixers head coach Brett Brown was making personnel decisions and scooped up the Philly-born Villanova prospect.

It was a feel-good story in Philly that didn’t last longer than an hour. Eventually, the Sixers flipped Bridges to the Suns to land Texas Tech rookie Zhaire Smith and an additional first-round pick.

The Sixers’ organization might’ve moved on at this point, but the Philly fan base still feels the sting of letting go of the hometown player that’s carved out a solid career for himself through his first four seasons in the league with the Suns. 

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

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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