Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges has been one of the special players for the Nets ever since he came to the franchise last season as a result of the Kevin Durant trade. However, Friday showed that he was special to a team other than Brooklyn, special enough to be honored forever.
On Friday, Bridges’ number 25 jersey was retired by Villanova University, a school that Bridges played for from 2015 to 2018 after redshirting for the 2014-15 season. During his three seasons as a Wildcat, Bridges helped Villanova win two national championships, won Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East for the 2016-17 season, won the Julius Erving award for the 2017-18 season, and many more.
In Bridges’ final season at Villanova, 2017-18, he averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.4% from the field and 43.5% from three-point range. Those numbers, along with his many accolades, propelled him to being the 10th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.
"I couldn't even dream of this day"@mikal_bridges cemented as a @novambb legend. pic.twitter.com/msrQKalESl
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 18, 2023
Mikal’s @NovaMBB tenure was prolific:
– 2x NCAA National Champion (2016, 2018)
– 2016-17 Big East Defensive Player of the Year
– 2017-18 All-Big East First Team
– 2017-18 Julius Erving Award
– 2018 All-Big East Tournament First Team
– 2018 Big East Tournament MVP
– 2018 NCAA… pic.twitter.com/Z8E8CwJ7jB— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 18, 2023
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