Knicks' Mikal Bridges On Pace to Break His Own NBA Record

The New York Knicks are a legitimate playoff contender this season, but one player has made it harder than it needs to be. Mikal Bridges, the man they gave up five first-round picks for, keeps showing up differently every single night.

Reporter Tommy Beer shared the following on X: "Last season, Mikal Bridges became the first player in NBA history to log more than 3,000 minutes and attempt fewer than 125 free throws. This season, Bridges is on pace to finish with fewer than 100 FT attempts."

Last season, Mikal Bridges became the first player in NBA history to log more than 3,000 minutes and attempt fewer than 125 free throws.

This season, Bridges is on pace to finish with fewer than 100 FT attempts.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) March 10, 2026

Through 67 games, Bridges has attempted just 81 free throws while logging 2,250 minutes. With only 15 games remaining, and his minutes trending slightly lower under coach Mike Brown than they were under Tom Thibodeau, he is unlikely to cross 2,800 minutes this season. At his current rate, he will finish well below 100 free throw attempts.

That number points to something real. Bridges is not hunting contact, not driving into traffic, not forcing defenders to foul him. He settles on the perimeter, takes pull-up jumpers, and hopes they fall. When they do, he looks like a quality third option. When they don't, the Knicks have very little to fall back on.

The scoring swings this month have been hard to watch. He put up 25 points against San Antonio on March 1, then went completely scoreless against the Lakers on March 8, missing all six of his shots in 27 minutes.

Two nights later against the Clippers, he managed just seven points on eight attempts. His corner three, once one of the most dependable shots on the team, has become something nobody can predict from one game to the next.

Against the Utah Jazz on March 11, Bridges posted five points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field with no free throw attempts.

In February, the same pattern played out. He went from 23 points against Washington to five against Denver, then eight against Detroit. It is not one bad week; it is a recurring theme that has followed him all season.

Mar 9, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) moves the ball up court against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Why Mikal Bridges' Free Throw Rate and Inconsistency Worry Knicks Fans

After the Lakers game, Bridges addressed it directly.

"Being in foul trouble takes me away from being out there to try to help my team win," he said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "I've got to be better, starting off the game fouling a shooter from three."

Foul trouble was part of it that night. But the free throw number tells a deeper story. A player who never gets to the line is a player who is not attacking, and when a non-attacking Bridges also goes cold from outside, there is simply no version of him that can keep the offense moving.

With the playoffs closing in, the Knicks need Bridges to be a reliable third option every night. Brunson and Towns can only do so much. Right now, nobody knows which Bridges is walking onto the court, and that uncertainty is exactly what a historic free throw record has been quietly measuring all season.

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