Miles Bridges stat projection for 2025-26: How good can Hornets forward be?

Miles Bridges is the last remaining player from a bygone era for the Charlotte Hornet s. He's the longest tenured player on the roster, hailing from the 2018 draft class. For now, he remains a veteran leader and a starter. The latter is unlikely to change with a lack of wings or power forwards on the roster.

But what does 2025-26 hold for Bridges? His scoring was slightly down in 2024-25, along with his efficiency, but his assists and rebounds were slightly up. His defensive numbers slipped, particularly in steals. His blocks were slightly up, though.

As he enters year seven (with one missed due to his domestic violence off-court issues) with the Hornets, the team has more weapons in place around him. What does that mean for Bridges, though?

Miles Bridges stat projections for 2025-26

With less scoring and worse efficiency despite increased usage, it is safe to say Miles Bridges is on the downswing a little bit. His athleticism, evidenced by having fewer dunks last year than in years prior, is waning, too.

The Hornets' lineup is going to involve LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Collin Sexton/Kon Knueppel, Bridges, and Moussa Diabate/Mason Plumlee. It's hard to envision Bridges being anything but the fourth option.

Ball is the first option, and Miller is the second. Bridges could theoretically land here as the third, but with Knueppel's shooting (assuming he starts), he'd be the third option over Bridges. If Sexton starts, Bridges still probably ends up behind him.

That is going to mean far fewer opportunities to score the basketball. No longer an elite lob threat, Bridges needs the ball in his hands to do well, and he's just not going to have it all that much. Injuries will open time for him, but it won't be enough for him to put in a stellar season.

With that said, his efficiency should go up. He's been dreadful in that category for the last few seasons, but with less usage and more spacing, that should see an uptick. The shots he does get will be more open since Ball, Miller, and Knueppel should provide excellent spacing on offense.

Bridges has never been much of a passer, averaging 2.7 assists per game for his career. However, he averaged 3.9 last year, and a similar number is likely with so many weapons potentially on the floor with him at all times. If he does have the ball, he could easily set up Ball, Knueppel, Miller, Sexton, Liam McNeeley, Tre Mann, and others.

With the center spot up in the air, Bridges will absolutely remain one of the bigs out on the floor most often, which will provide rebounding opportunities. He averaged a career-high last year with 7.5 per game. Playing with Moussa Diabate will lower that (because Diabate vacuums up rebounds like few others), but in lineups with Plumlee or even Ryan Kalkbrenner, there will be some rebounds available.

On defense, Bridges will still probably end up guarding some ball-dominant players at times, but he's never been a great defender. Now, with his athleticism beginning to dwindle, it's less likely that he'll be able to burst into passing lanes or leap with dunkers for blocks. Those numbers should continue dropping.

All of that is going to result in a decent but wholly unspectacular season. Final projection: 17.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.5. blocks, and 0.6 steals on 45.3/33.8/86.2 shooting percentages.

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