Hornets foward Miles Bridges talks about team’s recent successes

Read their full conversation below:

DaShawn Brown: In looking through the history of this team, I’m looking at the all-time leading scorers in the history of this franchise....Kemba Walker, Dell Curry and now Miles Bridges. When did that sink in that you’d earned that?

Miles Bridges: It is kind of surreal because Dell and Kemba.. They’re legends for this organization. They’ve done a lot for this organization. For me to be put into any conversation with them is a blessing for me.

DB: Now in year seven. You’re the vet at this point - the longest tenured Hornet. What kind of responsibility comes with that?

MB: I’ve been through a lot of tough times here. Being in a play-in, almost making the playoffs twice, having losing seasons here...I’ve kind of been through it all. The only thing I haven’t done is make the playoffs and that’s what I’m really striving for and that’s what I think everybody on this team has their mind set on. Just making the playoffs, so with me, I just have to be a consistent leader and just lead these guys the right way.

DB: You mentioned the goal that is in front of this team right now really trying to work your way into playoff position. How much of the national buzz are you starting to hear as other people see what you’ve known in house?

MB: We see that, but we don’t pay attention to it because if we lose a few games, it’ll go right back to people disrespecting us. We take it with a grain of salt and just keep playing the way we’re playing.

DB: Looking at the starting lineup over the last month or so… Nine and one as of this conversation. With the group that’s out there now. What’s working?

MB: Everybody’s been healthy. It’s easier to play with guys that you have chemistry with. That’s what we’ve been doing, building chemistry over this time. We really didn’t have a chance to play with each other, and now that we do we’re showing what a healthy Hornets team looks like.

DB: So many different weapons on this team. I’m even thinking about some of the WOW moments that we see. You’re often on the opposite end of LaMelo Ball lobs… Can you help us to understand what it’s like to be on the other end of that?

MB: It’s exciting… For me and him it’s more of an eye contact thing. Now, if we lock eyes on a fast break or just in the middle of a play...and he sees that I’m open for a lob, I know he’s gonna throw it//// so it’s fun. He’s doing the same for Brandon. He’s creating for everybody and that’s just the type of person Melo is he tries to create for everybody first before himself.

DB: What was the moment within the year where you really saw guys buy in on the defensive end of the court?

MB: I feel like the Thunder game… that’s when we really bought in. When we beat the world champions,, that gave us the confidence that if we could guard them, then we can guard everybody. It was like an appropriate fear. We knew if we came into that game and we didn’t play defense, they were gonna blow us out. I feel like ironically, that’s what we’re doing to other teams. now.

DB: As the longest tenured Hornet, you have seen many iterations of the organization so when you have the leadership, the ownership, Charles Lee… What do you think they’ve brought that’s helped to change the culture?

MB: It’s very organized now. Not to throw a shade at anybody else, but times before it wasn’t as organized and now we know what to expect when we come in they take good care of us. We have great practices, great shootarounds, everything is consistent. They actually want us to get better. Rick, Jeff, and Gabe they’re all hanging around… We’re not used to seeing owners hanging around here. So for us winning games, that’s us showing our support back to them. Just watching this team there are so many moments where you can see guys having fun… The chemistry that you’ve developed...where does that go back to, what was the root of the tight bond that you have now? We do a lot of team dinners. The one that went viral was when we went to Kon’s family‘s house… the Knueppel family’s house. We spend a lot of time together and I feel like it’s starting to show on the court

DB: Now I’m going to put you on the spot. You mentioned the team dinner at the Knueppel’s… How many of you stayed around to do the dishes?

MB: Nobody. Kon…oh my gosh…yeah.. it was great. We spent a lot of time there, we got to know his brothers. We got to know his dad, his mom, and they’re great people.

DB: You know, you’ve been around the League for... year seven now, so you’ve been around, you’ve seen the business side of this. How do you handle mentally trade talks and all the things that come with this part of the year when you still have games to play?

MB: Just controlling what I can control. If I focus on winning, everything will take care of itself. I would love to be with Charlotte the rest of my career but I understand that it’s a business so I can’t, if I think about stuff like that, then I’ll go crazy and it will show on the court.

DB: Was that through advice or experience that you were able to bring yourself to that point?

MB: Experience. I’ve played with a lot of people on the team that have gotten traded, or I got waived and I still talk to those guys to this day and the thing that I wanna do is stay in the moment as much as I can.//

DB: We are very much in the moment now...just over halfway through the season. This team has already matched all of last year’s win total. What excites you most about what is possible through this final stretch?

MB: That we’re still getting better. That’s the scary thing… We’re still getting better, we’re still figuring out how to win close games I feel like once we learn how to consistently play like this, then we’ll be one of the hardest teams in the east or the NBA to beat.

>> Watch Brown’s full interview with the Bridges in the video at the top of the page.

(WATCH BELOW: QB trainer shares insight into Drake Maye’s rise to stardom)