Months after pulling the plug on their superteam experiment, the Brooklyn Nets are playing competitive ball.
They hold an 11-9 record and are very much in the race for at least a play-in tournament spot after recently defeating the Atlanta Hawks, 114-113.
In that game, Mikal Bridges led the way with 32 points, and he hit the game-winning shot with 5.0 seconds left.
Bridges has come a long way since coming into the NBA five seasons ago, and Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn praised him for his growth and evolution, per ClutchPoints.
“You give him a lot of credit for going from supposedly a guy that wouldn’t be in that position to take that shot three years ago to a guy that is leading the league in clutch points.”
Jacque Vaughn gives Mikal Bridges his flowers 🙌
(via @erikslater_)pic.twitter.com/YGs95avQ6m
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 8, 2023
Bridges, a 6-foot-6 wing, was the No. 10 pick in the 2018 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded him to the Phoenix Suns on draft night.
It took him a few years to figure things out, but by the 2020-21 season, he had emerged as one of the better 3-and-D players in basketball.
That year, he shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range and helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.
When he was sent to Brooklyn last winter in the Kevin Durant trade, it was thought he was still a complementary 3-and-D man and nothing more.
But he quickly blossomed into someone who can be and has been a featured scorer, averaging 26.1 points in 27 games with the Nets last season, and he’s at 23.3 points per contest so far this season.
Between Bridges, Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Lonnie Walker IV, just to name a few, the Nets have a young and dangerous team that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
NEXT:
Young Nets Star Reveals What He Learned From Superstar Trio