3 reasons Mikal Bridges is the Brooklyn Nets’ next star

1. There is plenty more to come

Everyone knew that Mikal Bridges was a good player and a trustworthy defensive specialist, but few would have guessed that his offensive game would eventually land him in the same conversation as Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid. Bridges already made a leap earlier this season, when he was asked to step up for the injury-ridden Suns in Devin Booker’s absence. He showed his potential in a bigger role, but what he’s been doing since coming to the Nets is far exceeding expectations.

Bridges’ emergence as a star on the rise will make the Nets’ rebuild much easier, as they don’t actually have to start over from scratch. Plus, they finally have some calm stability and are not just the remains of the failed Durant-Irving-Harden super team experiment. Their future looks much brighter now than was initially expected, and there are several reasons for that.

First of all, Bridges is only 26 years old, just entering his prime, and has been under contract for quite some time, which means that the Nets can build around him. Secondly, there is more to come in the future. A jump like the one Bridges has made this season clearly suggests that he has another level to rise to, and with the Nets, he has the opportunity to fully explore that.

It is a big change to go from being a team’s third or fourth scoring option to suddenly being on top of the food chain, and the situation is quite different, too. Earlier this season, Bridges was only holding down the fort as the Suns’ leader while reinforcements were on the way. In Brooklyn, he is surrounded by a capable supporting cast, but superstar power might not be coming to help any time soon.

Luckily, there is no pressure on the new Nets team. They are already doing much better than expected, and Bridges can use the remainder of the season to explore his offensive range and potential as he grows into Brooklyn’s next star.