NBA: Predicting 5 break through players that will make their first All-Star team in 2023-24

Mikal Bridges, Brooklyn Nets

After Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving bolted out of Brooklyn last season, the Nets found themselves without a figurehead. Ironically, a team that had previously been bannered by three marquee figures was now scrambling to figure out its next go-to guy.

There’s something to be said about crossing the bridge when you get there, but Mikal Bridges didn’t want to wait for his full season with the Nets before showing out. In the 27 games that he played after being traded to Brooklyn, the former Villanova star averaged 26.1 points on 47.5% shooting from the field. For context, those numbers are better than the 17.2 PPG and 46.3% FG percentage that he was putting up in Phoenix.

Did we mention that Bridges is the embodiment of durability? Technically, he played 83 games last season, as he had already been fielded in 57 games when he was still wearing a Phoenix uniform. Bridges’ consistency can be an excellent complement to his production as he makes his All-Star case this season.

Plus, if we’re talking about making the All-Star team, Bridges had his star-making moment in the bronze medal game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. With Team USA down by 3 with just 4.2 seconds left in regulation, Bridges intentionally missed a free throw, somehow got the offensive board, and drilled a corner trey to send the game to OT.

While Canada ultimately snuffed USA’s chances of securing a podium finish, Bridges definitely put the basketball world on notice.