Mikal Bridges
Position: G/F
Height: 6-7
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Weight: 210
School: Villanova
As par the course for the NBA draft, most of the college players projected to go in the 2018 lottery are underclassmen.
In fact, Mikal Bridges may wind up being the only exception.
NBA
The Villanova product is considered a consensus lottery pick despite that he’ll be 22 years old when he makes his NBA debut. With an older prospect like that will always come concerns of a low-ceiling, but in a league where two-way wings are both uber-valuable and hard to come by, it’s not hard to see why Bridges is a coveted player. And on top of that, there's reason to believe he can become more than just a three-and-D player based on the continued growth he showed in college.
The Malvern, Pennsylvania native improved each season throughout his three years at Villanova, making a substantial leap in 2017-18 as Josh Hart graduated and Bridges excelled in a larger role. The redshirt junior jumped from 9.8 to 17.7 points per game, while shooting over 51 percent from the field. He garnered third-team All American and first-team All Big East honors en route to winning his second national championship.
Strengths
Bridges' two most translatable skills are his three-point shot and defense. While his shooting form isn't the most natural, Bridges put up a high volume of triples and connected on an impressive clip. He knocked down 43.5 percent of his 239 three-point attempts last season, and 41 percent of his 351 attempts over the last two seasons. While most of his attempts came off the catch, he showed an ability to make shots on the move coming off screens and he has a high release point, which allows him to rise up over contests.
An underrated strength of Bridges is his basketball I.Q. When going through his tape, rarely did he not make the right/extra pass when the ball was being swung around or take a shot out of the flow of the offense. He’s unselfish, cuts off-ball, understands what he’s good at and plays within himself.
On the defensive end, obviously, it starts with his physical tools. He stands 6-7 with a 7-2 wingspan. That frame gives him the potential to be a versatile force that can switch and swallow up players across multiple positions. But maybe more notable, Bridges flat out competes on defense. So while he may not be as good an on-ball defender right away as say, Ben Simmons was as a rookie, his energy and competitiveness combined with his physical tools should still make him a plus. Long term, he has NBA all-defensive team upside.
Weaknesses
Playing alongside two ball-dominant guards in Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo allowed Bridges to play more off-ball and within his comfort zone at ‘Nova. But if he’s going to become more than a shooter and raise his ceiling, he’ll have to develop as a shot creator with the ball in his hands, both in isolations and pick-and-rolls. That will entail improving his handles and diversifying his offensive game; like working in a reliable pull-up, getting to the rim against a set defense or utilizing his size to post smaller defenders, something he did at times in college.
The biggest question for him on defense is how his slender frame handles bigger, physical wings. And if the answer to that isn't great, he'll need to add some bulk to his body.
But again, these improvements that Bridges needs to make comes with the caveat that he's much older than your typical high draft pick and may already be near his maximum development as a player.
NBA comparison
Obviously, this will depend a lot on how much Bridges can add to his offensive repertoire, but I like Khris Middleton as a best-case scenario comp. Middleton, who averaged 20 points and four assists for Milwaukee this season, has similar physical traits as an all-around, two-way wing. If Bridges isn't able to become as dynamic a playmaker as Middleton, his offensive game could fall somewhere in the range between three-and-D wings like Otto Porter and Robert Covington.
How’d he fit with the Sixers
Bridges is the perfect combination of fit and readiness to contribute to winning basketball. Similar to Covington, Bridges would slide in perfectly alongside Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz because he doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact. His gravity and defensive ability alone would make a positive impact from Day 1.
Draft projection
It’s certainly no guarantee that Bridges will still be on the board at No. 10. The highest he'll conceivably go is No. 5 to the Mavericks and would make sense for every team after Dallas up until the Sixers' pick and beyond. It'd be surprising if he made it past the Hornets at 11.