The 2020-21 season was a coming-out party for Miles Bridges. He truly came out of his shell with the Charlotte Hornets and displayed that he has a very promising future in the NBA. In a league that’s blessed with a ton of young talent, when the topic of promising young players is discussed, Bridges’ name is often left out. In reality, he may have the most promising future of them all. Despite his amazing season full of jaw-dropping dunks and vicious slams, there’s still a wide variety of basketball fans that have yet to fully grasp just how good Bridges is and can be.
Hornets fans will never forget the 2018 NBA draft when they originally selected the Canadian stud Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the 11th pick. Just minutes later, the Hornets swapped Shai for the 12th overall pick that belonged to the LA Clippers, as well as two second-rounders. That 12th overall pick turned out to be the one, the only, Miles Bridges.
Bridges has always dominated in the game of basketball. The 6-foot-7 Michigan State basketball star made the All Big 10 first team unanimously in his draft year and came up with quite the highlight reel in a Spartans uniform.
Charlotte had always been craving an offensive specimen, and Bridges stepped up big time this season when the Hornets needed him most. In his three seasons with the Hornets, Bridges has only gone up in terms of statistics. In his rookie season, he posted 12.7 points per game, 15.2 ppg the following year, and 15.7 ppg in 2020-21, and as a starter, he jumped up to 18.6 ppg. A very promising leap.
The chemistry that’s been created between Bridges and LaMelo Ball, who’s coming off winning the Rookie of the Year award, was simply staggering at times. There were nights the two of them looked like they had been playing basketball together for 10+ years. Both of them possess high basketball IQ and haven’t even begun to hit their peaks yet.
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Bridges and Ball are going to do the majority of heavy lifting in helping Charlotte get back into the playoffs. The last time playoff basketball made an appearance in the city dates back to 2016 where the Hornets lost to the Miami Heat in 7 games and the infamous purple shirt game was played, which has felt like an eternity for this die-hard fan base.
I’m here to tell you that the losing days in Charlotte are over. Entering his 4th NBA season, Bridges is ready to take his game to the next level. Expect more flashy dunks, leadership to some of the younger players, and more of an understanding on what it takes to be a winner in this insanely tough league.