Bridges struggling to comprehend his dramatic move

NEW York Knicks new boy Mikal Bridges has revealed he will be wearing the No 25 shirt.

It’s the number Bridges, who joined the Knicks earlier this month, wore when he played for the Villanova Wildcats.

Bridges in action for the Brooklyn Nets earlier this yearCredit: Getty

Bridges wearing the No 25 shirt for the Phoenix Suns last yearCredit: Getty
He was also able to wear it for his first four seasons in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns.

But he switched to the No 1 jersey when he joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2023.

The Nets had previously retired No. 25 in honor of Bill Melchionni, a star from the team’s ABA heyday.

Bridges joins fellow former Wildcats Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart as the Knicks look for that magic formula to go even further than last season.

The 27-year-old announced the news on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, while apologizing to fans.

“Switching back to #25… have a blessed day… sorry for the ones that bought #1 jerseys already,” Bridges wrote.

Fans are not usually shy to respond to the big names, and they certainly weren’t here.

“25 feels better imo,” one fan wrote.

“You didn’t look right in 1 tbh, happy you are switching,” another fan said.

“You gotta do what feels right.” a third fan said.

“I’m excited to see you play,” a fourth fan said.
“Go Knicks. We’re going to have a top team this year,” a fifth fan said.

Bridges has admitted there’s something special for him about joining the Knicks.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “Coming here, it makes me feel like a young kid again, with all the memories.

“When I think about basketball when I was young, and the old school, it was always the Knicks.

“That’s what you think about. MSG. The New York song. All that stuff.”

Inside the NBA’s future?

Inside the NBA’s run on TNT Sports is in major doubt due to the NBA’s broadcasting deals.

The Emmy-winning sports show is a fan favorite thanks to the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.

But TNT’s broadcast deal with the NBA is up after next season and NBC looks set to take those rights in a $2.6bn deal.

If TNT loses its NBA package, it raises serious questions over the popular Inside the NBA.

One solution could be to recreate the show on another network, which snaps up the NBA rights.

The Knicks finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 50-32 record.

They lost 4-3 to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

New York were 3-2 down, but the Pacers came back to win the last two games of the series.

The Knicks will be determined to go further than that in the 2024-25 season, especially after their old rivals the Boston Celtics won a record 18th NBA title.