Mikal Bridges has received a ton of flack and criticism for his highly volatile level of play throughout his second season with the New York Knicks, and rightly so.
From his wildly inconsistent shooting stroke to his lackluster and unpredictable scoring production, the forward's on-court efforts have sparked much conversation about the lofty cost it ultimately took for Leon Rose and company to attain his services from the Nets back in 2025.
In a pleasantly surprising turn of events, however, Bridges actually now finds himself coming alive in this year's postseason, especially as of late, where, over the last two outings, he's found himself dropping sensational averages of 20.5 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds on a ridiculous 77.3 percent shooting from the floor and 71.4 percent shooting from deep.
Both contests were must-win, tone-setting situations for the Knicks: the first a series-clincher against the Atlanta Hawks, and the second their series-opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Behind his strong efforts, New York handily won both by an average margin of victory of plus-45.0.
No, this recent surge doesn't, all of a sudden, cancel out his truly abysmal play at times earlier in the campaign. However, it does serve as an exciting reminder of just how effective Bridges can be and has been for the Knicks when they've needed him most in the playoffs.
Should it continue here in 2025-26, New York could realistically end up being fully vindicated for the polarizing blockbuster after all.
Mikal Bridges has a track record of shining bright for Knicks in playoffs
Though he may only be in his second season with the Knicks, Bridges has already established himself as a playoff riser.
Last season, such a descriptor was established by way of multiple, incredibly crucial performances.
In a quarterfinal-clinching, Game 6 win over the Pistons, Bridges dropped 25 points, second to only star Jalen Brunson's 40.
Against the heavily-favored Celtics in the semifinals, the forward single-handedly secured a Game 1 win with a clutch steal and recovery in the closing seconds of overtime, and then followed this up by going absolutely nuclear in the final period of Game 2 with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field to secure a comfortable 2-0 series lead and completely shift the momentum of the series.
Now, after a slow start to the 2026 playoffs, Bridges is actively emerging as a crucial component of the Knicks' middle-stages successes, with his latest feat coming in the form of a 17 points, five assists, two rebounds performance on 70.0 percent shooting from the floor and 60.0 percent shooting from deep while playing just three quarters in the club's 137-98 beatdown of the Sixers.
Unfortunately, given his production this year, it's hard to confidently bank on this consistency sustaining itself moving forward in the postseason. However, his track record suggests that when the pressure is at its highest, Bridges can step up in a major way.
If he continues to do so, there's a strong possibility that the original trade with Brooklyn could be viewed through a very different lens than just a few short months ago.
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