Mikal Bridges
Mikal Bridges was born in Malvern, Pennsylvania, United States on August 30th, 1996 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 28, Mikal Bridges biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 28 years old, Mikal Bridges has this physical status:
Mikal Bridges (born August 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, winning national championships in 2016 and 2018.
Early life
Bridges is the son of Jack Bridges and Tynee Rivers, who gave birth to him at the age of 19 and raised him as a single parent. He grew up in Overbrook, Philadelphia, and the immediate communities. In middle school, he went to Malvern, Pennsylvania. Tyrone Garland, a former La Salle player, is his second cousin.
High school career
Bridges attended Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, where Jim Nolan coached him. In his sophomore year, he began to get serious about basketball, with a spurt to reach 6–6. He averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior. He was selected First Team All-Class AAAA during his senior season. As a senior, he had averages of 18.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game. As a senior, Bridges was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer's All-Southeastern Pa., boys basketball first team. He had 1,340 points and 511 rebounds in his career. He was ranked by ESPNU as the 82nd best player nationally and committed to Villanova in June 2013.
College career
Bridges redshirted his rookie season and assisted in scouting players. He appeared in all 40 games for the Wildcats in his first year with Villanova. He said he had to lift a lot of weightlifting and change his three-point shot. He played a key role in the 2016 NCAA tournament, scoring 11 points against the Oklahoma Sooners in a Final Four match. For the first time since 1985, Bridges and his colleagues secured the NCAA championship for the first time since 1985. As a rookie, he averaged 6.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. "He came in as a high school scoring phenom like they all do," coach Jay Wright said, "I'm really proud of how he's started his game defensively."
Bridges was supposed to be the team's sixth man in the 2016-17 season, but he played every game until Phil Booth went down with a knee injury in November. "If there is such a thing as a five-tool player in college basketball, Mikal Bridges is the model." He was known as a lanky forward who could score and play solid defense as well as being a good guard, and he was often guarded by the opposition team's best player. He scored 13 points to help Villanova defeat Mount St. Mary's in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. When making 56% of his field goal attempts and 39 percent of three point attempts, bridges averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He increased his scoring as the season progressed, scoring 12.3 points in his last 12 games of the regular season. Bridges, along with Creighton's Khyri Thomas and teammate Josh Hart, was one of three Big East defensive players of the year nominees, placing third in the conference in steals with 1.9 per game.
He was named to the 2017-18 All-Big East second team. In a 24-point victory over Lafayette on November 17, the Bridges made all six 3-point attempts in a 24-point victory. In an 88–72 victory over Gonzaga, he scored a career-high 28 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. Bridges beat Seton Hall on March 2, 2018 by a score of 23 points. He joined Jalen Brunson on the All-Big East first team at the conclusion of the regular season. After scoring 28 points in the title game, a 76–66 victory over Providence, he was named MVP of the Big East tournament.
On a 51 percent shooting, the junior Bridges averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, with 43.5 percent on 3-pointers. He received the Julius Erving Award for best small forward. Bridges declared on April 10, 2018, that he would forego his last season of collegiate service and declare for the 2018 NBA Draft, where he was ranked 10th in the Philadelphia 76ers' first round. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns later in exchange for Zhaire Smith's 16th pick and an unprotected 2021 first round pick.
Professional career
Bridges was selected with the tenth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA draft and was then traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Zhaire Smith's draft rights and a 2021 first-round pick. Bridges were drafted into the 2018 NBA Summer League by the Suns. On July 6, 2018, he signed a four-year, $17.6 million rookie-scale deal with the Suns. Bridges will miss the remainder of the preseason due to an elbow injury, according to the release on October 6.
Bridges made his professional debut in a 121–100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on October 17, 2018. Bridges scored his first points, rebounds, and assists in a blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. In a 116-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, he made his first career start in place of Trevor Ariza, scoring eight points in 25 minutes in 25 minutes. Bridges lost by 118–112 to the Atlanta Hawks on February 2, 2019. Bridges defeated the Miami Heat 124–121 on February 25, a season-best 8 assists. In every game played during the season, Bridges will get at least one steal from January 22 to March 6. He was the first rookie since Chris Paul to earn a steal per game in 20 games. It was also the second longest stretch for a rookie in franchise history after Ron Lee. Bridges was the only Suns player to play in all 82 games for the regular season at the end of the season.
In a 120-116 loss to the Sacramento Kings on November 19, 2019, Bridges matched his career-high of 20 points. In a 121–119 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City on December 14, he scored his first 10 rebounds in his first appearance of the 2019-20 NBA season. Bridges then lost by 111–110 to the Portland Trail Blazers in a 104–110 loss. In a 111–110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he matched his career-high ten rebounds two days later. Bridges won by 123–119 over the Boston Celtics on January 18, scoring a season-high 26 points on 6–8 three-point shooting. In a 140-131 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 8, Bridges scored his first double-double with 21 points while still matched his career high of ten rebounds. Bridges appeared in all eight games for the Suns as a small forward in the 2020 NBA Bubble.
Bridges defeated the Indiana Pacers 125–117 in a 125–117 victory on January 9, 2021, with a new career record of 34 points. He also assisted the Suns in their 10-game season since 2009. Bridges scored 27 points in a 118-108 victory in Game 2 of the 2021 NBA Finals. The Suns lost in 6 games to the Milwaukee Bucks, defeating them in the Finals.
Bridges and the Suns agreed to a 4-year, $90 million rookie contract extension on October 17, 2021. At 64–18, Bridges and the Suns had their best overall record in the league during the regular season. Bridges earned recognition from players, coaches, fans, and journalists for his defense, with the Defensive Player of the Year award naming second in the Defensive Player of the Year poll. Bridges won 112-97 against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 26, 2022, with five rebounds and four blocks. The Suns jumped to a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks before losing in seven games.