Knicks confident Mikal Bridges will bounce back after shooting slump

The Knicks saw plenty of Mikal Bridges this summer.

Bridges, acquired in a high-profile deal that sent five first-round draft picks to the Nets, arrived in late June and became a regular presence at the team’s Tarrytown training facility ahead of media day and the start of training camp in Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 1.

By then, head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks’ executives, and Bridges’ new teammates were already familiar with the forward’s tireless work ethic. They knew how much effort he’d invested in perfecting his three-point shot, which he converted at a 37.5% clip over the course of his seven-year NBA career.

That’s why there’s still confidence that Bridges, a pivotal piece of the Knicks’ championship aspirations after an offseason that also brought in Karl-Anthony Towns, will snap out of his early-season shooting slump and return to form as a reliable marksman.

Through four preseason games, Bridges shot just 2-of-19 from three-point range. His struggles continued in the season opener in Boston, where he went 0-of-4 from beyond the arc in the first half before finding his rhythm in the second. He finished the game hitting seven of eight shots from the field, including two-of-three from downtown.

“Just making one. I think that’s pretty much it. Just making one is just like letting the lid off,” he said in Boston after the loss. “But that’s pretty much it just teammates finding me, staying aggressive and that’s pretty much it.”

His early struggles from beyond the arc haven’t shaken the team’s confidence, but they highlight just how crucial Bridges’ shooting will be if the Knicks are to realize their championship ambitions.

The Knicks didn’t sacrifice their draft capital and mortgage their future for a role player. They traded picks in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2033, plus the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round pick in 2025 to the Nets for the third prong in their offensive attack — a player they believe can help lead them to a championship, something the franchise hasn’t achieved since 1973.

Bridges linked his struggles to a change in form, as he works to recapture the smooth mechanics that helped him win two NCAA titles at Villanova.

He’s not trying to fix what isn’t broken — a misconception fueled by social media. Instead, Bridges is refining his craft.

“It’s just been a thing since I’ve been in the league. It’s kind of going back to where I want to be in college, and it’s just the smoothness. That’s pretty much it,” he said. “Every time, every year, I always feel good shooting, but I always feel like I could smooth it out, every year, try to smooth it out better.

“Like, I know I shoot a pretty good percentage, but it’s always just getting better every year and just keep leveling up.”

Thibodeau agrees.

He’s seen this kind of commitment from the greats he’s coached over the years. No player worth their weight ever settles.

“Guys are always trying to do something better,” Thibodeau explained. “So again, whether it’s get it off quicker, to get it up more, it served him well. That’s how he got here.”

Thibodeau praised Bridges for his dedication.

“We saw him. He was in all summer working on his shooting,” he said. “Most players are gonna work on something, whether it’s arc, release, adding a different shot, and I think that’s what makes him good, to never come back the same. I think you look at his body of work, and I trust him because I see how hard he works each and every day.

The Knicks have complete confidence in Bridges, despite his slow start. His second-half surge against Boston — even in a blowout — was a promising sign for a team that will rely on his scoring all season.

“I think he got his rhythm,” said Jalen Brunson, “and we’ve just gotta build off that together.”

As far as the talk surrounding Bridges’ shooting form? The Knicks aren’t interested. Bridges knows his shot better than anyone, and the team trusts that he’ll make the necessary adjustments.

“Mikal don’t care about anything else. We don’t care about all that background noise about Mikal, his shot, all that other — we don’t care about it,” said Josh Hart. “He puts the work in every day. He’s going to be good. The talk around it is stupid and there is stupidity to it because at the end of the day he’s been almost a 40 percent three-point shooter. The talk around it is stupid and we’re not really going to entertain it.”