Mikal Bridges Reflects on Big Trades, Draft Night And His Impressive Playing Streak

The former 10th-overall pick speaks with Chris Mannix about his 'wild' introduction to the league.

For Mikal Bridges, NBA draft week brings back mixed memories. In 2018, the 76ers selected Bridges with the 10th pick. For Bridges, a Philadelphia native who played college ball at Villanova, it was a lifelong dream … right up until the 76ers completed a draft day trade that shipped him off to Phoenix.

“It was just wild,” recalls Bridges. “Phoenix [was] probably one of the last teams that I thought I was going to go to. I didn’t talk to anybody and I didn’t know nobody, honestly, there besides probably [Devin] Booker, because we were in the same high school class. But I didn’t know the coach, the GM, none of them. So it was really surprising to me at the moment. It was tough to begin that way. But then once I knew what they gave up and what they were trying to build over there, it kind of made me feel good about it.”

Bridges, who was traded to Brooklyn last February, is back in New York this week working with eBay at its first “Collectors Camp,” a first-of-its-kind training camp created for sports fans who want to take their collections to the next level. The first event will take place at The Post in Brooklyn on Wednesday and will feature a series of intense training events for card enthusiasts who want to build world-class collections.

Bridges sat down with Sports Illustrated this week to talk collecting, getting traded, his ironman streak and more.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Mikal Bridges was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Brooklyn Nets last February :: Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports

Sports Illustrated: Thoughts on what Denver did in the Finals?

Mikal Bridges: Nothing crazy. I just thought they were a better team. They’ve been better, been pretty much the best team all year. And they’ve just been building habits all throughout the year and been playing really well. They didn’t really change anything up. Their star players stepped up, did what they were supposed to do, and their key guys did what they’re supposed to do.

I think they walked in there just basically talking about, ‘This is what we were supposed to do,’ honestly. Credit to Miami for getting there and beating the teams they did. Hell of a year for them, and they gave it all they got. Denver won because they were just a better team.

SI: Is there a lesson to be learned about team-building? The Nuggets were patient with that group. They experienced some ups and downs but stuck with it. And now they are NBA champs.

MB: It takes time. Sometimes you might see stars get together and it might not work, and then owners or GMs are quick to move on. Or players might not win early and want to get out. Chemistry really matters more now. And I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s just the chemistry. The chemistry you build throughout the years is always the biggest thing.

And if you watch Denver, each player knows where each guy was going to be at. It was second nature for them. So it’s easy to play on the court with four guys out there knowing what everybody’s tendencies are and where they’re going to be. There’s no thinking. You just know that if I get blown by, that guy’s going to step up for me. If I do this and that, that guy is going to do that for me. So I think that’s the biggest thing, being together, being around each other every day for all these years. You just build so much chemistry where it comes natural when you’re on the court.

SI: What do you remember about your draft night?

MB: Yeah, it was a wild night. I didn’t think I was going to go to Phoenix. I thought my draft was seven through 11. I thought I was going to go to Charlotte at 11, but that was kind of those five teams in that area right there where I thought I was going to go to. And then when I got drafted by Philly, there wasn’t even a thought in my head about getting traded from that situation.

SI: You have said you were hot over it. How long did it take you to cool down?

MB: I think it took until I got to Phoenix the next day and did the press conference that night and that whole day after. Really took me a day because all this stuff going on, processing getting drafted and all that. So I’d pretty much say a day, because when we flew to Phoenix the next morning and at the press conference and I was there in Phoenix and I think just that next day I finally realized it, and it felt good.

SI: The NBA is an 82-game season. You played 83 games last season. You haven’t missed a game since high school. What’s your secret?

MB: I think I’ve just been blessed not to have any major injuries. I think that’s the biggest thing. Other than that, just doing a lot of things to help prevent injuries. Injuries happen. You can’t control them, but you can help little things to help prevent them. Just trying to take care of my body, doing lifts and doing all different types of training just to build the muscles and to get my tendons and all that stuff.

And then it just comes to a point just when you are beat up and you know you might be hurt, just pushing through. I got that from Villanova and Coach [Jay] Wright. You don’t miss games at all unless you’re seriously hurt, or you’re going to be considered soft. So that kind of stuck with me. So even if I’m banged up a little bit, if I can go, I can go. And I compete. It’s all that into one. I like to compete and I don’t like missing games. When you play all these years without missing a game, you don’t want to miss one. Obviously if you’re seriously hurt, then that’s a whole different subject. But if you’re banged up and you know you could sit out or this and that, I’m more likely just to push through it. And once the adrenaline gets going and stuff, I’ll be all right. But I just like to compete and not miss any games.

SI: When was the last time you thought you might miss time?

MB: I had a couple things. I think one game in Charlotte this year when I was in Brooklyn, I think I landed on my wrist, something happened in the wrist. It kind of went away and when I lifted, everything was fine. Then I got home at night and I just started getting this big heartbeat feeling on my shooting hand. All night I couldn’t sleep. I had teammates in college that broke their hands. And I never did anything like that.

And I was kind of nervous because it was so painful. I had to order freaking Tylenol and everything so I could calm it, so I could go to sleep. So that moment right there, I was nervous because I was just like, ‘Bro, if it's broken, I have no choice.’ Then when I woke up next morning, it just all was my wrist. And then I was like, ‘O.K, let me get this looked at. If there’s nothing crazy, I’m just going to get it taped up and I’ll be all right.’ And that was the one point where I was nervous.

SI: Is there any pressure to keep the streak going?

MB: I think [the streak] gets blown up just because of how many games it has been, but I don’t go off the streak. I’m just more, I want to play. I just don’t want to miss a game regardless. Obviously if something’s serious, I won’t risk something wild to be out there. But it’s nothing to do with the streak. I think it’s just me personally. I just don’t want to miss a game no matter if I had a streak or not. I just never want to miss games. I just want to be out there every time and give my team a chance to try to win a game.

SI: So what’s the story with this Collectors Camp?

MB: So eBay just launched Collectors Camp, in Brooklyn, which is my new home, and I’m happy to be here. I’m excited for that because I grew up collecting cards and I used to always get packs. I used to always get packs and try to find the best cards for my favorite players. And eBay was one of the places where if you go get those packs and the card you’re looking for doesn’t have it, you could find it on eBay. Just look up whoever the player was. And at the time for me, like Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant, those main guys, even Brandon Roy. I wanted them. So it was easy just to go on eBay. You could find things like that. It made you cherish the moments of your favorite players.

SI: You have always been one of the NBA’s best defensive players. But you averaged 26 points in 27 games with the Nets last season. What’s it been like to get to show what you can do offensively?

MB: Yeah, man, it was dope. Came to a great group of guys. Obviously I miss all my friends in Phoenix. As you see [they are] kind of getting spread out a little bit. So at least in my heart at least I won’t feel too upset, because now everybody’s kind of going everywhere. I [do] miss being around them. But yeah, it’s a great opportunity [in Brooklyn]. I always tell people I got traded at the right time with having pretty much the whole team out and being the guy for about a month and just going through the pains and the gains and growth throughout every day. Having bad games and losing a lot to finally starting to get it going and start being efficient and trying to win games. And then once it kind of got to that and then that’s when I got traded. So it was perfect timing. I couldn’t have been traded at a better time.