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Former Villanova Star Calls Out Sixers Following Mikal Bridges' Big Night

Former Villanova star Kris Jenkins called the Sixers out for their decision to trade away Mikal Bridges on draft night in 2018.

Justin Grasso

Former Villanova Star Calls Out Sixers Following Mikal Bridges' Big Night
Former Villanova Star Calls Out Sixers Following Mikal Bridges' Big Night /

The city of Philadelphia is unsure how to feel about a former Villanova star shining for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals this season. After the Suns took down the Milwaukee Bucks 118-108 in Game 2 to snag a 2-0 lead, one of the stars of the night was Malvern, Pennsylvania-born wing Mikal Bridges.

Being that Bridges is from Pennsylvania and played his college hoops at one of the local Universities, Philly fans are happy to see him succeeding on basketball's biggest stage. However, there is a hint of bitterness considering Sixers fans witnessed a player that could've been on their team drop 27 points in an NBA Finals game.

Now, a former Villanova star has a question for the 76ers as he watches his old teammate, Bridges, go off in front of basketball fans from all over.

"How do ya'll feel since ya'll traded my man on draft night," wrote Jenkins.

The answer? Probably not great, considering the Sixers could use a player like Bridges. Back in 2018, former Sixers head coach Brett Brown was serving as the team's temporary General Manager following Bryan Colangelo's premature departure. 

With the tenth pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, Brown and the Sixers selected Bridges out of Nova. At the time, the pick was exciting for Philly, but the excitement was short-lived. Not too long after the selection was made, the Sixers struck a deal that sent Bridges to Phoenix for Texas Tech's Zhaire Smith and a future first-round pick.

While the pick was used as bait in a future package, the player swap did not work out in the Sixers' favor. As Bridges continues to impress on the Suns, the Sixers no longer employ Smith as they cut him loose ahead of the 2020-2021 season. At this point, there's nothing the Sixers can do but take the criticism and move on.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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