Player Name: Miles Bridges
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Years Pro: 3
Draft: 2018, First Round #12
Number of Top Shot Moments: 6
Fun Fact: He was selected in the same draft two picks after Mikal Bridges (no relation), who was the first player talked about in this series.
This is #6 in a series where I will highlight some of the best young players in the NBA to add to your Top Shot collection who you might not have heard much about. No, I’m not talking about your Lebrons, your Lukas, or your Currys, I’m talking about emerging stars whose popularity should only continue to rise in the years to come.
Miles Bridges is a player that really began to hit his stride at the end of his third season, a season where he averaged 12.7 points per game on 50% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. He’s an important part of the Hornets’ younger core, and will only continue to grow alongside players like PJ Washington and Lamelo Ball.
His 12.7 points per game is already a big step up for him, but that doesn’t even begin to show how much Bridges improved by the end of the season. He was truly on fire to end the season, averaging 22.3 point per game on 49% shooting in his final 10 games, with only his three point percentage dipping a bit toward league average of 32%.
One of Bridge’s biggest assets is his electric dunking ability. He’s shown off some really impressive dunks in his young career, and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue to do so. It also doesn’t hurt that the Hornets’ play-by-play announcer, Eric Collins, is super enthusiastic and makes every Bridges’ slam feel ten times cooler than it has any right to.
My favorite Miles Bridges moment is his Throwdowns (Series 2) dunk where he throws down the hammer right over the Atlanta Hawks’ Clint Capella. It is in contention to be one of the best poster dunks of the decade. It really shows off his insane leaping ability and his impeccable finishing.
The play I’d most like to see become a moment (#NBATopShotThis) really consists of three moments, but that’s just because of how completely ridiculous the sequence was. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Bridges scored 9 points off of three 3s in 14 seconds, which is like Tracy McGrady levels of crazy. As much as I love Bridges’ dunks, I think adding a moment of his shooting would show more people that he isn’t just a dunker, but he’s also got a really good jump shot.
