Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges is one of the rising stars in the NBA thanks to his new role as the Nets’ best player. While Bridges may not be the best scorer in Brooklyn anymore, enter Cam Thomas, he is still one of the building blocks of the franchise and he has one person to thank for preparing him for future success.
Bridges, 27, recently did an interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report and among other topics, Rooks asked Bridges who gave him the “biggest assist” off the court. Reference to State Farm’s slogan aside, Bridges said that the person who helped him the most off the court was Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams.
Bridges and Williams overlapped with the Phoenix Suns, specifically from the 2019-20 season to the 2022-23 season before Bridges was traded to the Nets as part of the Kevin Durant deal. In fact, Williams had such a close relationship to Bridges and fellow “twin” Cam Johnson that Williams cried after both were traded away.
Here’s some of what Bridges had to say about what Williams did for his career:
“I think just him being in my life helped me grow just as a human. I appreciate him so much. Just how he is as a person is just beyond just coaching. You feel like you’re one of his kids.”
Mikal Bridges tells @TaylorRooks he credits Monty Williams for giving him the biggest assist off the court 🙏 pic.twitter.com/qxn1CknCbp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2023
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