At this time last season, Mikal Bridges gave a disheartened press conference about New York Knicks fans taking over a Brooklyn Nets home game at Barclays Center. One year later, he was on the other end of the crosstown rivalry.

These past few games, we’re starting to see the very best of Mikal Bridges again, which has been a reminder that there was a reason the Knicks targeted Bridges in the first place.

Mikal Bridges proved to be a Net gain for the New York Knicks on Friday night. Bridges has struggled to find his Manhattan footing since donning a Knicks jersey

During his time playing for the Nets, Bridges wore only jersey No. 1, and put up 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

The blockbuster trade that sent Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn to Broadway for five first-round draft picks, a second-rounder and a first-round pick swap felt like a seismic move that said a lot about the directions the two franchises were headed. The Knicks were going for it. The Nets were rebuilding again.

Johnson credited Bridges being a big help in a challenging 2022-23 season. Between Johnson’s meniscus surgery that November and them being traded to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant deal three months later, Bridges helped keep him positive, especially adjusting to a new city.

Mikal Bridges chose to focus on the positives when asked about his first matchup versus his former team, the Brooklyn Nets.

Friday’s matchup at Madison Square Garden marked the first time the Nets have faced their former star forward, Mikal Bridges, since last summer’s blockbuster deal.

After playing his best game of the season in the New York Knicks' dramatic 124-122 win over the Brooklyn Nets, Mikal Bridges was the butt of a joke