3 reasons Mikal Bridges is the Brooklyn Nets’ next star

2. Bridges is a two-way force

For most of his time in the league, Bridges’ calling card was defense above anything else. As one of the best perimeter defenders in the game today, he was the runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year award last season.

Bridges takes on the toughest defensive assignment available night after night, and that is not just a figure of speech. Not having missed a single game of his professional (or college) career, Bridges is the NBA’s reigning Iron Man. The two things combined have given him the reputation as one of the most durable players in the league, and the Suns have always relied on him for heavy minutes, but with the Nets, those minutes will only become heavier.

The Nets are still finding themselves, but they already have an identity as a strong defensive-minded team, and Bridges is the backbone of that. At the same time, however, he is also moving to the forefront of their offense. His usage rate has already soared so high that, if he had played the entire season like this, it would be in the top 10 in the league.

While Bridges is surrounded by plenty of other versatile defenders, his workload on that end of the floor will not change much. So, now he will have to learn how to consistently juggle his defensive responsibilities with his new offensive role as the team’s scoring engine.

That is a lot of responsibility, but it also helps Bridges on his path to stardom. Too many stars in the NBA are only stars because they are talented scorers, but they provide little value on the defensive end of the floor. Bridges, however, is turning into a true two-way star player.