Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks is on the verge of superstardom

New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges was traded for five first-round picks over the summer, a price teams only trade to acquire a superstar.

While the Knicks have been led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns all season, Bridges is starting to lean into the question of being the third star the team has been looking for.

“You can see that with every game there is more comfort,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said in Posting and Toasting. “That’s probably not the right word, but (Bridges) has a great rhythm now. “He understands his teammates a lot better. His teammates understand him much better. He plays a great ground game. He moves without the ball. He gets on the floor quickly in transition.”

Bridges played the role of gluer with the Phoenix Suns and the role of scorer with the Brooklyn Nets, and now he’s using aspects of those two experiences to run things with the Knicks.

“I try to be a mix (of Phoenix and Brooklyn),” Bridges said. “That’s the biggest thing.” I think that’s one of the main reasons I was traded here, because I can do both. I’m just trying to get better every day and get good results on both ends.”

Bridges has become increasingly comfortable with the Knicks, and if he continues to do so, he could get closer to the same level as Towns and Brunson and help New York get closer to a title.

“As teammates, we had to help him and be better for him. I think we all understood and accepted the challenge and made it a focus to get it up and running,” Towns said.

“He’s not just a player in this league. He’s a star in this league and he deserves the mindset of a star.”

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