For Mikal Bridges, the trade from Phoenix to Brooklyn was a golden opportunity.
And those who know Bridges best have seen how he works to make the most of any opportunity.
It’s a chance for the Philadelphia native to be back with family and friends. It’s a shot at a bigger role, to be a star and a leader for the Nets. And Saturday he’ll lead his new team against his childhood one in the first-round playoff opener at Wells Fargo Center.
“It’s too funny because I grew up in Philly, and I grew up a Sixers fan myself,” Tyneeha Rivers, who raised Bridges as a single mom, told The Post. “But once Mikal was traded to Phoenix, I was a Phoenix Suns fan. Now my son is playing for the Nets, I’m a Brooklyn Nets fan.
“But it’s still surreal to see my son play against the hometown team, the team I grew up watching and cheering for. And how crazy is it, the team that he was originally drafted with, and now is playing against them in the playoffs. It’s crazy coming full circle and seeing all this come to life. It just blows my mind, but yet is so exciting at the same time.”
The 76ers weren’t just the team that drafted Bridges.
He grew up watching them in Philadelphia’s Overbrook neighborhood and later in Malvern, Pa.
His mother was the Sixers’ VP of human resources when they drafted him in 2018 — and then traded him to Phoenix 15 minutes later for Zhaire Smith and a first-round pick.
“I’m a terrible flier,” Rivers admitted. “So to be able to have him closer — I work out of New York — it was like a match in heaven for me. So now I’ll work, I’ll go catch a game, and I love just being able to see him, spend more time with him off court. So I’m excited about his new journey with the Nets.”
Bridges still talks to his mother daily.
Want to catch a game? The Nets schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
But with Rivers now working above Grand Central Terminal — she’s the Chief People Officer for Curaleaf — she gets to see him play in person.
After his career-high 45 points in his second Nets home game, Bridges took off his jersey and gave it to her courtside.
“Yeah, all teary eyed, all excited. Awesome ride,” Rivers told The Post. “You get traded and you’ve just got a lot of stuff going on. … But it seems to be a good fit. There’s good young talent on the team and I’m excited for the future for the Nets.”
And Bridges is rapidly becoming an even bigger piece of the Nets’ future than anybody could’ve expected.
“It’s been great definitely to get a chance to see him more and see him play more. And this new opportunity he’s getting is definitely great,” Bridges’ father, Jack, told The Post. “He’s stepping into this role, and it’s a great opportunity.
“He’s smart enough to understand there’s a business side of all of this, and be blessed that you’re still living your dream and have this opportunity, and make the most of it — just like Mikal has made the most out of every opportunity he’s had, [in high school] to Villanova to Phoenix and now to Brooklyn.”
That included winning two national titles at Villanova, reaching the NBA Finals with the Suns and being the centerpiece of the Nets’ return in the Kevin Durant trade.
Bridges stepped into one of his favorite star’s shoes and out of his ex-teammates’ shadows.
Bridges learned a lot in a supporting role for the Suns behind Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and is using those lessons to lead the Nets.
“He learned a great deal from those guys,” Jack told The Post. “Those guys are like big brothers to him.
“Mikal took a lot from those guys and learned a tremendous amount, and I can see him putting what he learned to use.”
The payoff has been Bridges averaging 26.1 points for the Nets.
That’s in addition to running the most miles in the NBA this season and being the first player in 31 years to lead the league in minutes for consecutive seasons.
But that kind of work ethic isn’t new for Bridges.
It was inherited from and ingrained by Rivers, who got pregnant as a 19-year-old sophomore at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
She moved back to West Philadelphia, got a job in a mail room and started taking classes at Cabrini College.
A single mom working full-time, she grinded away a class at a time to get a human resources certificate from Villanova and, in 2015, a master’s from St. Joseph’s.
“Just seeing me struggle — I was a young mom balancing trying to climb the corporate ladder, going to college at the same time — Mikal saw me taking one class at a time and doing my homework after we did his, and I’m up all night writing papers,” Rivers said. “I had to just grind. Just coming from very humble beginnings, coming from a tough neighborhood, and being able to push forward and achieve my own personal goals.
“He was part of that. We kind of grew up together. He was able to see that hustle and grind, what grit and determination really looks like early on. And it was easy to pass on to him. He’d see that grind and see me working all night, and he was like, ‘Oh my god, this is hard Mom. I can’t believe you’re still going to school.’ But it was something that was important to me that was easily transferable to him.”
Not just because every time he used to miss a free throw he owed Rivers 10 pushups (no wonder he shot 89.5 percent this season).
That ethos has served him well — starting a four-year, $90 million deal — and will take him to yet another level.
“You still haven’t met his peak of what he can accomplish,” Rivers said. “We’re going to see this kid can do a lot more than we thought he could. There’s more in him that’s yet to come.”