Mikal Bridges, like any other Knicks newcomer, was asked how he felt he would fit in with Tom Thibodeau’s demanding style, a narrative that has followed the head coach around since his days in Chicago.
Some players aren’t cut out for the workload that comes with playing for Thibodeau, as highlighted by NBA players anonymously voting him the coach they’d least like to play for three years running (polled by The Athletic).
Bridges didn’t hesitate when voicing his belief that he will seamlessly fit into a Thibodeau-coached team, and he came with receipts.
Back when Bridges was coming into his own on a dominant Suns team coached by Monty Williams, the Villanova product played 50:10 of an overtime win against the fast-paced Kings, shooting 9-for-18 from the field with 27 points and two steals. No Phoenix teammate played more than 37:22 in that game, one in which Bridges was fighting an illness.
“I was sick as a bat, literally out there, couldn't breathe and playing 50-something minutes,” Bridges said. “I was on the freaking chair after we won, literally laid out. I don’t think Monty knew I was sick either. He was just like ‘Look at him, that’s what we do.’ I was like ‘Let’s just get on this damn plane.’”
After his heroic 50-minute effort, Bridges went on to play more than 38 minutes in each of the next three games, furthering his label as an iron man that a coach like Thibodeau would welcome with open arms. The Knicks have generated an identity of embracing the workload, going against the grain of the modern NBA and the desire to rest stars to be “fresh” for the postseason, and Bridges sees himself as a player who will need to change nothing in order to fit in to that kind of culture.
“Thibs is a great coach,” Bridges said. “Who doesn’t want to play? Who doesn’t want to play all the time? Who he is, what he embodies and how structured he is, that’s what I came from. High school, college, with coach Monty as well. I fit for that. I know everybody says all those jokes about Thibs, but I’m like, y'all must not have been watching me in Phoenix, because Coach Monty would play me 48 minutes in Phoenix.”
The numbers back it up. Bridges is riding a streak of 474 consecutive games played, the longest active streak in the NBA. He hasn’t missed a game since the 2019-20 season, when he played in 73 games. In all of his other five NBA seasons, he has played the full slate.
Sounds like an instant Thibodeau favorite.
“Looking at the team last year, I think I fit in really well,” Bridges said. “How I play basketball, just good brand of basketball, know how to make winning plays, play the right way. I think I’ll fit in pretty well.”
Beyond the availability, Bridges will bring a defensive intensity that nearly won him a Defensive Player of the Year award two years ago, and a 3-point efficiency that all meshes with Thibodeau’s coaching philosophy. Show up every day, never take a possession off on defense, and let the ball handlers collapse the defense and kick out to open shooters. Bridges believes his game will fit perfectly with that style, and the Knicks obviously agree, parting with a boatload of first-round picks to get a deal done.
Sure, there is the Villanova fit as well, as Bridges joins Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart as college teammates who won championships with the Wildcats. But beyond their shared collegiate background, the group also shares the Thibodeau mentality that made them coveted Knicks targets in the first place, and Bridges is ready to get to work, no matter how much work there may be.
“Just trying to win,” Bridges said. “I think we all embody how to win games. There's a lot of sacrificing to win.”