National Basketball Association

Nets' Mikal Bridges names his favorite player growing up — Kevin Durant

Updated Feb. 24, 2023 5:47 p.m. ET

Mikal Bridges gave plenty of insightful answers when the Nets' social media team posed a series of questions about what the new Brooklyn forward's life is like off the court. But when asked who his favorite player was growing up, Bridges paused and awkwardly chuckled before giving his honest answer — Kevin Durant.

Bridges, of course, headlined the package of players and draft picks that the Suns traded for Durant on Feb. 9. Phoenix's acquisition of the 34-year-old superstar is considered one of the biggest blockbuster deals in NBA trade deadline history.

His answer drew laughter from the Nets staffers filming him, likely due in part to Durant's awkward exit from the team he signed with as a free agent in 2019 but never led past the second round of the NBA playoffs. Despite that, Durant is still widely considered one of the best players in the NBA, and the Suns are widely seen as championship contenders with a core built around him, Devin Booker and Chris Paul.

[Kevin Durant expected to make Suns debut vs. Hornets Wednesday]

Still, plenty of Suns fans were sorry to see Bridges and Cam Johnson leave in the trade, which also sent Jae Crowder and four unprotected first-round draft picks to Brooklyn in exchange for Durant and T.J. Warren. Bridges and Johnson both developed into useful two-way forwards for the Suns. They were also fan-favorites who embraced Phoenix and were active in the local community. Bridges admitted during a recent appearance on J.J. Redick's podcast that he would miss living in Arizona.

However, Bridges also told ESPN recently that he is embracing his new role as one of the most recognizable players on the new-look Nets, whose trade of Durant signaled the end of a tumultuous era in which Brooklyn failed to live up to championship expectations with Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Irving was traded to the Mavericks on Feb. 5 after numerous off-court controversies, while Harden was traded to the 76ers back in February 2022.

In the ESPN interview, Bridges cited a piece of advice that Suns coach Monty Williams gave him, saying that Williams always preaches that "You ain’t getting sent off to war" when faced with basketball-related trials. Bridges also mentioned another quote from Williams in the video for the Nets, saying it is the best piece of advice he has ever received: "Keep your spirit up."

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