Mikal Bridges forced to apologize to Knicks fans after major U-turn

NEW York Knicks new boy Mikal Bridges has revealed he will be wearing the No 25 shirt.

It’s the number Bridges, who joined the Knicks earlier this month, wore when he played for the Villanova Wildcats.

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He was also able to wear it for his first four seasons in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns.

But he switched to the No 1 jersey when he joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2023.

The Nets had previously retired No. 25 in honor of Bill Melchionni, a star from the team’s ABA heyday.

Bridges joins fellow former Wildcats Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart as the Knicks look for that magic formula to go even further than last season.

The 27-year-old announced the news on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, while apologizing to fans.

“Switching back to #25… have a blessed day… sorry for the ones that bought #1 jerseys already,” Bridges wrote.

Fans are not usually shy to respond to the big names, and they certainly weren’t here.

“25 feels better imo,” one fan wrote.

“You didn’t look right in 1 tbh, happy you are switching,” another fan said.

“You gotta do what feels right.” a third fan said.

“I’m excited to see you play,” a fourth fan said.

Bridges admits there’s something special for him about joining the Knicks.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “Coming here, it makes me feel like a young kid again, with all the memories.

“When I think about basketball when I was young, and the old school, it was always the Knicks.

“That’s what you think about. MSG. The New York song. All that stuff.”

The Knicks lost 4-3 to the Indiana Pacers in last season’s Eastern Conference semi-finals.

They will be determined to go further than that in the 2024-25 season, especially after their old rivals the Boston Celtics won a record 18th NBA title.