"No, you not bro"- Paul George doesn't believe Mikal Bridges wants to be a teacher after retiring from the NBA
Mikal Bridges is expected to make at least a run for the NBA All-Star team next season. Following the blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, Bridges turned heads in Brooklyn with superb two-way play.
Bridges hasn’t even reached his peak and yet he already seems to have plans post-retirement. When Paul George heard the Nets forward wanted to be a teacher after his career is over, "PG13" had this to say:
“No, you not bro. You about to be a $400, $500 million player. You no teacher, bro!
“When we fast forward and you have your own little one, you think about 20 more of these. We’ll have the same conversation."
Mikal Bridges didn’t hesitate to answer when asked earlier to comment on rumors that he wanted to teach kids after retiring:
“I think when I’m done playing, that’s the thing I wanna do, like second-grade teaching. … My friends say it, too. A lot of them, they fake believe me and they on your [George] side, too.
"Don’t you see them videos when the kids come in and teach you to do all the handshakes with each one and s**t like that?
If Bridges does become a teacher after his career in the NBA, he wouldn’t be the first pro athlete to share his knowledge with kids. Only a few, though, have become literal teachers. A handful have been successful as elementary coaches.
Mikal Bridges will only be playing his sixth season in the NBA when he leads the Brooklyn Nets next season.
The Brooklyn Nets will count on Mikal Bridges to lead them to the playoffs
The Brooklyn Nets no longer have their former big-name superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to carry them to the playoffs. Ben Simmons has become a shell of his former self. It remains to be seen if the Australian will ever get back to the form that made him a three-time All-Star.
Leading the team next season will be the former Phoenix Suns defensive ace. Mikal Bridges averaged 26.1 points, which would have been a career-high, in 27 games for the Nets. He added 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals.
With defenses now focusing on him, he even improved his overall shooting. He hit 46.3% in Phoenix and hiked it up to 47.5% in Brooklyn. His three-point efficiency, however, went down. From 38.7% with the Suns, it decreased to 37.6% with the Nets.
In the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, Mikal Bridges showed why the Brooklyn Nets are so excited to have him. He put up 23.5 PPG(points per game), 5.3 RPG(rebounds per game) and 4.0 APG(assists per game). “The Warden” also showed off his defensive chops while carrying the offense for the Nets.
Bridges hit 42.9% of his shots, including a stellar 40.0% from deep in nearly seven attempts per game. It seems he has a better chance of becoming an All-Star next season than teaching second-grade in retirement.
Also read: “Worst she can say is no” - NBA fans lose it as Mikal Bridges gets aired by WNBA star