Mikal Bridges

For a player whose move from one New York borough to another required only a short distance, it was quite poetic that Mikal Bridges’ on-court migration offered a similar type of familiarity and closeness. Penciled through the history books with the decade’s most corner 3-pointers (378), Bridges sets the stage, first through an unselfish feed, allowing the New York Knicks’ All-Star pairing to sift through could-be options on a pindown, dribble handoff combination. Wide-open and free to fire after the Boston Celtics overhelp on that clever action, Bridges — with a refined release — “introduces” himself to his new environment through a proven method, splashing in a semi-contested right-corner triple. Bridges’ discovered, post-halftime groove was a bright spot, even during a loss on October 22, 2024, in which the defending-champion Celtics rained in 3-pointer after 3-pointer themselves. Appearance No. 1 in The Big Apple, for Bridges, concluded with 16 points (on an efficient 7-of-13 shooting), two assists, and two trifectas across a team-high 35 minutes.