Karl-Anthony Towns gets honest about the criticism Mikal Bridges faces
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Karl-Anthony Towns gets honest about the criticism Mikal Bridges faces originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Over the past two seasons, the New York Knicks have had Mikal Bridges as one of their starters. He is obviously a talented player who is always available. Unfortunately, he has had some bad stretches that have been scrutinized by a lot of people.
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Recently, he has had an uptick in his performances, which has some people doing a 180. It seems his struggles were tough, but he had teammates who supported him the whole way, like Karl-Anthony Towns.
Karl-Anthony Towns shows his appreciation for Mikal Bridges
In the upcoming NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks will need everyone to contribute. It will take a complete team effort to beat this Spurs team led by the gigantic Victor Wembanyama.
Bridges should be a key player because not only is he an elite defender, but he can also be a reliable offensive player. If he can provide the Knicks with some reliable scoring outside of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, this Knicks team could win the series.
MORE: Mikal Bridges could be the key to winning the 2026 NBA Finals
As one of the oft-criticized players on the Knicks team, Bridges is playing under pressure. Most people know how many draft assets they had to trade for Bridges, and that has become a talking point whenever his name is mentioned.
Thankfully for Bridges, he has a lovely group of teammates. Towns, in particular, made sure to praise Bridges ahead of the NBA Finals.
"In the moments when Kal had to show the world and Knicks fans how great he is, he's always shown up. He's shown the world why his value is so high and why we were the ones to see the value he brings to a team," Towns said a day before the 2026 NBA Finals start.
While the spotlight will be on players like Wembanyama, Brunson, and Towns, players like Bridges will want to make an impact. Despite having the pressure of the trade that got him to New York, Bridges is not considered one of the most important players in the Finals. He can change that with more impactful performances.
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