Miles Bridges Scouting Report

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Miles Bridges (Wing, 20, 6'7", 220 lbs)

Statistical Profile

Strengths

Bridges is an electric athlete with elite explosion ability, primarily off two feet. He is excellent attacking closeouts and almost unstoppable if he gets into the paint with momentum. He has a remarkable motor and is one of the strongest wings in this class leveraging his strength to bully smaller defenders and utilzing his size to his advantage defensively. He is an effective screener and cutter and should be able to blend into any offense at the NBA level (91st percentile as a cutter — 1.444 ppp). He has good touch and is quick off the ground, leading to tip dunks and offensive rebounds off his own misses. He is a very effective spot-up shooter and improved as a shooter off the dribble in his sophomore season, where he was ineffective as a freshman. He especially improved his pull up game from year to year.

He is a good ball handler with above average vision and passing ability, and was able to contribute as a distributor despite playing in condensed space next to two bigs this season. As the ball handler in pick-and-roll situations this season, he finished in the 93rd percentile scoring 1.018 ppp on 57 possessions. His ball handling is best utilized in close out situations, where he exemplifies an elite first step to get to the rim. He is extremely agile in these circumstances, and if his spot-up shooting translates, he will be a dangerous player on the perimeter due to his ability to beat defenders on close outs and make catch-and-shoot threes. His shooting is a good bet to translate well due to the fact that he scored 1.074 ppp on guarded catch and shoot jumpers on 95 possessions this season.

Defensively, he is mobile and explosive which makes him a great rebounder for a wing or stretch-four man. A team can play five-out with him at the four spot and maintain a solid defensive rebounding rate. He is adept at moving his feet on the perimeter and can switch 1–4 late in the shot clock. On a normal possession, he has enough versatility and quickness to play a role in a switch-heavy scheme. He is also a great help defender, using his vertical explosiveness to contest shots at the rim effectively.

Weaknesses

Bridges struggles offensively against quicker wings who can contain his first step and interrupt a slightly prolonged shooting motion. He is a good ball handler, but not a great one, and relies too heavily on his athleticism to beat defenders. He had a a low free throw rate considering his usage and it is possible that this is due to his aversion to jumping off one foot, especially in traffic. If he can’t explode to the rim or draw fouls, he may end up settling for inefficient scoring opportunities in the mid range which would significantly hurt his value offensively.

Bridges is not the best decision maker with the ball in his hands and has room to grow as a a ball handler in ball screen situations despite improvement in this area his sophomore season to go along with above-average vision and passing ability. He’s far better scoring as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls than he is as a distributor. He is also not developed as a shooter off the dribble and will likely be confined to a spot-up wing and cutter early in his career (.765 ppp on jump shots off the dribble — 47th percentile). He improved in this area his sophomore season, but is still about average off the dribble due to a loose handle and a lack of shake and shiftiness. Furthermore, Bridges measured at a 6'9.5" wingspan at the Combine, a disappointing figure that places him about average or slightly below average for NBA wings. He’ll need to overcome a length disadvantage at the next level.

Summary

Bridges is another high-floor prospect that flashes positional versatility on both ends, spot-up shooting and excellent instincts and IQ. He will be able to play 2–4 on most teams, seamlessly sliding between positions due to his ability to handle the ball, shoot and pass with a strong frame and elite athleticism. He will be a highlight dunker and has an extremely quick first step which adds to potential star equity if he is able to tighten his handle, improve his decision making, and improve as a shooter off the dribble. He is not far away in any of these categories, and improved significantly from his freshman to sophomore season despite playing with less space due to spending his minutes next to two bigs. Defensively, his length and size are slight concerns but has shown flashes as a weak side rim protector and he has the athleticism, strength and instincts to be a versatile defender in a switch-heavy scheme. The players below Bridges on this board have a higher ceiling, to be sure, but Bridges projects as a starting forward in the NBA with a very high ceiling if he continues to improve in a similar vein to his growth at Michigan State.