The Knicks gave up five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, the sort of haul teams typically give up for All-Star or All-NBA players. Many felt the franchise was bananas for sacrificing the farm for a role player such as Bridges, a career 14.8 points-per-game scorer.

Mikal Bridges finds solace in front of a television screen: a game controller gripped by his gangly fingers, a headset sitting on his waves and his best friend in the NBA in his ear. For months, Bridges and Knicks teammate Cam Payne had been playing the recently resurrected College Football 25.