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Knicks' $90 Million Star Benched Amid Shooting Struggles

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Mar 3, 2025 12:14 PM ET

From the beginning of the year, there has been some concern about the shooting of Knicks star wing Mikal Bridges, who had a rough go of things in the preseason, shooting just 2-for-19 from the 3-point arc in four October appearances. He got his touch back in time for the season, but still, Bridges has frequently wavered with his shot this year.

He has been slumping pretty hard lately, shooting just 28.6% from the 3-point line in his last 11 games. He made just 31.9% of his 3s in February.

In Sunday's win over the Miami Heat, coach Tom Thibodeau decided to sit Bridges for most of the fourth quarter, instead using guard Miles McBride. Bridges played only 26 seconds in the fourth, while McBride played the entire period. Bridges then played only 30 seconds in overtime, and McBride played 4:30.

The Knicks rallied for a 116-112 win.

“Just help the team any way you can,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And I think that goes a long way. Some nights it may be somebody else’s night. And that’s the guy we got to ride. If we’re putting the team first, that’s what we got to do.”

Thibodeau praised Bridges' handling of the benching.

“That’s what you love about the team. Whoever has got it going, we’re going to ride those guys a little bit more,” he said. “The most important thing is the team winning. And Mikal is fully engaged in the team and he does a lot of the dirty work for us and it’s much appreciated.”

Still, the Knicks need more from Bridges. Not only is the team paying him $23 million this year (part of a four-year, $90 million contract extension he'd signed) but the Knicks invested heavily in draft picks to bring him over from Brooklyn in an offseason trade.

In all, the Knicks are sending five draft picks and a pick swap to the Nets in the Bridges deal.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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