Behind the butterfly: Mikal Bridges' Suns-to-Knicks arc

Mikal Bridges is an NBA champion whose path started as a 2018 draft asset from the Steve Nash trade, peaked as a beloved Phoenix iron man, survived the Kevin Durant blockbuster, and closed with the New York Knicks in 2026—the exact arc Bright Side Of The Sun maps in its Butterfly Effect retrospective.

Published on June 27, 2026, John Doehass's "Behind the Butterfly: Mikal Bridges retrospective" pauses the Suns history podcast's usual trade-accounting format to follow one player from draft-night heartbreak to a Larry O'Brien Trophy. For fans who watched Bridges become "The Warden" in Phoenix, then disappear in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade, the piece lands as both nostalgia and vindication.

Key Takeaways

• Bridges entered the NBA through a lineage tied to the 2012 Steve Nash trade; Phoenix acquired his draft rights after Philadelphia selected him 10th overall in 2018.
• He became a Suns cornerstone from 2019 to 2023, playing every playoff game in the 2021 Finals run and scoring 27 points in Game 2 against Milwaukee.
• Phoenix sent him to Brooklyn as the centerpiece of the Kevin Durant trade in 2023; the Nets later flipped him to New York in July 2024 for a massive draft-pick haul.
• Reunited with Villanova teammates on the "Nova Knicks," Bridges won the 2026 title, contributing 14 points, three threes, and four assists in Finals Game 5 against San Antonio.
• Post-title, Bridges told Yahoo Sports that life in championship-starved New York has been "pretty cool," with fans stopping him blocks from home.

Why does Mikal Bridges trace back to the Steve Nash trade?

Bright Side's Butterfly Effect series usually measures whether Suns trades paid off on the court. This installment breaks format because Bridges's origin story starts years before he wore purple and orange.

In July 2012, Phoenix traded Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers and received, among other assets, a 2018 first-round pick. That pick was later moved in a February 2015 three-team deal that brought Brandon Knight from Milwaukee. When draft night finally arrived on June 21, 2018, the asset became Mikal Bridges.

The lineage matters because it frames Bridges not as a random lottery result but as a long-gestating piece of Suns history—one that outlasted the roster that originally collected it.

How did draft night break Mikal Bridges's Philadelphia dream?

By 2018, mock drafts from The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN all had Bridges going 10th—the exact slot Philadelphia owned. For a Philadelphia native whose mother worked in the 76ers' human resources department, staying home felt preordained.

Two months earlier, Bridges was Villanova's second-leading scorer in a 79-62 NCAA title-game win over Michigan, alongside future NBA teammates Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo. The 76ers did select him—and immediately traded him to Phoenix for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first-rounder that became Tre Mann.

Bridges presented a professional face publicly. Years later on Andre Iguodala's Point Forward podcast, he was blunter: "I was pissed off. I couldn't control my emotions. After everyone went out, I'm in my hotel room, like, f**k this." He packed for the Valley anyway, later admitting Devin Booker was about all he knew about the Suns.

What made Mikal Bridges "The Warden" in Phoenix?

From 2019 through 2023, Bridges built a reputation as a proven winner and true iron man. His rookie year brought modest counting stats—eight points, three rebounds, and two assists per game—but his third season marked a leap to 13 points per game and elite defense as a Finals starter.

He played all 22 playoff games during Phoenix's 2021 run and was pivotal in Game 2 against Milwaukee, pouring in 27 points alongside Devin Booker's 31 as the Suns took a 2-0 lead. Bright Side recalls an era when Suns Twitter and Reddit would flood timelines with nothing but his name after standout plays.

When the Kevin Durant trade arrived in 2023, Bridges was averaging 17 points per game and coming off a 2021-22 season in which he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Fans understood the championship logic; nearly everyone was still sad to see him leave. That emotional split still defines how Phoenix remembers the deal—something our Nostalgia: Then & Now coverage keeps revisiting as former Suns collect rings elsewhere.

How did Mikal Bridges go from Brooklyn trade chip to Knicks champion?

In Brooklyn, Bridges averaged 21 points across two seasons—productive, but in a leading role that never quite fit. Bright Side's author admits buyers' remorse as Phoenix's Durant era faltered: "It always felt like Mikal belonged in Phoenix in a way that was never true of Kevin Durant."

In July 2024, the Nets sent Bridges to the New York Knicks for four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first, a pick swap, a second-rounder, and salary filler. He rejoined Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart—the "Nova Knicks"—while DiVincenzo later spent seasons in Minnesota.

By June 2026, that group stood atop the league. In Finals Game 5 against the San Antonio Spurs, Bridges delivered 14 points on three made threes and four assists, helping close out the series as New York claimed its first title since 1973. For a player once traded twice on draft night and again for a superstar, the moment capped a career defined by durability and reinvention.

What is Mikal Bridges saying after winning in New York?

Championships change the geography of fame. Speaking with reporters syndicated through Yahoo Sports Canada, Bridges said: "It's been great. I don't think I can really step outside my home, walk up a block without a lot of fans, but it's cool because they deserve it. They've been here for so long, so I'm happy for them."

He added that even brief photo stops mean more to supporters than outsiders might guess: "Even for me stopping by and taking pictures of stuff, I know it means so much to them as well, so it's been pretty cool." The quote captures a player who once hid draft-night anger in a hotel room now navigating block-party-level adoration.

Bright Side's retrospective closes with reluctant coastal respect: a writer who roots against New York still wanted Bridges to achieve what Phoenix could not in 2021. Hometown hero, warden, centerpiece, champion—the labels stack up. The Suns may still be waiting, but the butterfly effect of one traded pick finally landed where fans always hoped it would: on a winner's podium.