Mikal Bridges

Pro comparison
Similar to Khris Middleton
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NBA projection
Starter/All-Star
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Measurements
​​6’7″ 191 lbs 7’0 1/2″ wingspan 21 years old

Write Up
Mikal Brides drastically improved his draft stock throughout the season due to his size/skill set and how well he filled his role for Villanova. Bridges is a prototypical 3+D SF/PF who fits today’s NBA, he stands at 6’7″ 191 lbs with a huge 7’2″ wingspan. He continued to show his consistency as a 3pt shooter and shot 43.5% on 6 attempts per game this past season (career 40% 3pt shooter). He’s also improved his ability to create off the bounce and playmake for others in P/R situations. Athletically, Bridges has a good burst on his 1st step and is very fast attacking in a straight line. He’s also a fluid rim runner and has solid explosiveness off 1 or 2 feet. Defensively, he is extremely versatile and would frequently guard all five positions throughout a single game. He has a good BBIQ and work ethic, which manifested itself on multiple occasions throughout Villanova’s championship season. He is also a solid rebounder and averaged 5.3 rebs per game this past season. Bridges is exactly what NBA teams look for in terms of plug and play wings as he possesses a rare combination of size and skill set.  In short, Bridges is a high level role player who still has tremendous upside. 

However, in order to fully maximize his talent, Bridges will need to address a few concerns. Offensively, he needs to improve his shot diversity, he is a good outside shooter, but tends to struggle a bit on mid-range jumpers and pulling up off the bounce. His shooting mechanics tend to be inconsistent, at times he’ll shoot on the way down, pull-up too fast and drift, or has an awkward follow through altogether. His length also doesn’t help his awkward mechanics as the ball has to travel a long way from his waist to the top of his release.  He also needs to add a runner/floater shot to his game as he hardly took those shots when attacking the basket.  Bridges does a good job at taking advantage of mis-matches in the post overall, but could become even more efficient if he had a jump hook or left hand.  Bridges could also refine his dribbling ability as he tends to play too upright with a high/loose dribble at times. Defensively, Bridges tends to struggle staying with quicker guards and tends to rely too much on his length/athleticism when trying to recover, this method was fairly successful in college, but will be taken advantage of in the pros.  Overall, Bridges is the type of player every team wants, he can fit with any team and provides instant value to the SF position.