No. 4. Miles Bridges – Forward – 23
Miles Bridges has rapidly become a fan favorite for not only Hornets fans but NBA fans around the globe. His posterizing dunks teamed up with Eric Collins commentary have become a quick recipe for a viral YouTube video.
While fans know him for his dunks, Bridges is starting to figure out his game and is bringing a lot more to the court. For starters, Bridges is a much better shooter than the public gives him credit for. Bridges shooting splits took a wide jump this past season going from 42/33/81 in 2019-20 to 50/40/87 in 2020-21. Bridges was a few free throws shy from being a member of the elite 50/40/90 club.
While his shooting numbers are amazing, he needs to be scoring at a more consistent rate. Bridges averaged 12.7 points per game on 29.3 minutes and spent most of the season coming off the bench as the sixth man. However, when injuries started to pile up on Charlotte, Bridges was thrust into the starting lineup where he averaged 18.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
This is the big lure with Bridges as he heads into his fourth season. Can he be the consistent scorer that he and the Hornets think he can be? He will need to improve his ball-handling to do so, and if he can unlock a mid-range game, Bridges could reach that star potential. He already has the athleticism and the shooting percentage to suggest he has the tools to be a big-time NBA player.
If he can figure everything out and put it all together, Bridges could see his rating go from a 78 to a top 10 worthy figure and get the respect he deserves on his dunk rating.
This won’t be @MilesBridges’ @NBA2K rating for long. 😤 pic.twitter.com/8ATcHnqvQS
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) August 21, 2021