It has become quite rare to see a player not miss a game in an NBA season. In 2023-24, just 17 players appeared in all 82 outings (Buddy Hield appeared in 84 due to an injury-season trade). That number was even lower in 2022-23 as just 10 did so. In the era of load management and sitting out one-half of a back-to-back, it is refreshing to see someone take pride in suiting up for every game.
New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges is on both small lists of players. As a matter of fact, now in his seventh NBA season, the 28-year-old has never missed a game in his career. In his first season with the Knicks, their contest on Sunday night was his 500th career game. Mikal Bridges joins an even smaller, more exclusive list of players who have started their career playing in 500 consecutive games. It hadn’t been done in nearly four decades.
Mikal Bridges Becomes Sixth Player To Reach This Ironman Streak
Mikal Bridges Has Now Played In 500 Consecutive Games To Start Career
On Sunday, the Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic by the score of 100-91. In the game, Bridges did what he always does: suit up to play. It was his 500th career NBA game, and he finished with 17 points. If he never missed a game in his career, Bridges would have played in…500. The 6-foot-6 small forward became just the seventh player in league history to start his career playing in 500 straight outings. It had last been accomplished by Terry Tyler from 1978-85.
Mikal Bridges has played his 500th career game. He is now the sixth player in NBA history, and first player since Terry Tyler (1978-1985), to play in their first 500 games without ever missing a game.
— NY Knicks PR (@NY_KnicksPR) December 15, 2024
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Sitting out a game has not been an option for Bridges since being drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2018. After spending his first four full seasons with Phoenix, Bridges was shipped in-season to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that brought Kevin Durant to the Suns in 2023. This past offseason, the Nets traded Bridges to the Knicks.
Bridges spoke about a few occasions where he thought he might have to sit out. He said,
“One where I was in Phoenix, where I hyperextended my knee. We were going to San Antonio, I was real nervous. It was painful. … Then when I was in Brooklyn, I did something to my wrist. I thought I broke my hand. I couldn’t sleep at night. It was bad. And then when I woke up, it was just my wrist.”
Game #501 in a row can take place on Thursday on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Long Way To Go To Catch All-Time Record
Not only has Bridges never missed a game in his NBA career, he never missed one in college either. In his three years at Villanova, he played in 116 of a possible 116 outings.
As impressive as Bridges streak in the NBA has been, he’s still not even halfway to the all-time record for consecutive games played. That record belongs to A.C. Green. He played in a remarkable 1,192 straight, a streak that spanned from 1986 until 2001.
So while Bridges surpassing Green’s all-time record is highly unlikely, he’s still should still be commended for never sitting out because it’s done so frequently around the league.
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