Mikal Bridges, Team USA stomp Italy 63-100

You hated him right? (laughs) Austin Reaves on Mikal Bridges: I mean, I didn’t hate him. I didn’t know what to think about him back in the day. But it was just like, his energy. He’s never in a bad mood. You know at all times, he’s going to do and have the right intentions towards the game. He’s not going in without any wrong intentions. it’s always good. He’s picking up full. He’s not scoring a lot, but he’s doing all the other stuff. We were talking the other day and he looked at me and said, ‘Bro, I don’t care. As long as I can put a gold medal around my neck, I don’t care. I don’t care what happens. As long as we win, I don’t care.’ That means a lot for me to hear. You go back to last season when he’s with Brooklyn. Like, he’s averaging over 25 after he gets traded. He’s got the ball in his hands. For someone to able to adapt like that, really just care about winning, it’s been cool. That’s been the one I’ve kind of meshed with the most, on and off the court. As far as taking away stuff from guys’ games, it’s really mores been about the approach, the time spent either in the weight room or on the court. Not really moves or anything. It’s more about the approach. -via Los Angeles Times / September 2, 2023