They said you weren't worth five first-round picks. What about now?

Following the Knicks' title victory, the arena erupted in cheers, and during his interview, Bridges's eyes welled up as tears involuntarily fell—all the feelings from the past five years converging in that instant. Having previously come within reach of a championship only to miss it, this moment carried an overwhelming emotional weight.

Bridges was the only Knick who had experienced a Finals loss. In 2021, as a third-year player, he reached the Finals with the Suns. They won the first two home games to take a 2-0 lead over the Bucks, with the title seemingly within their grasp. But the Bucks then won four straight, and the Suns never even got a chance to secure a game point, ultimately losing the Finals.

Reflecting on that, Bridges still couldn't believe it: "When we were up 2-0, we felt like we were about to win it all. We thought the Eastern Conference teams were just average. When we learned we'd face the Bucks, we thought it would be easy."

In a way, this year's Spurs had the same mindset as the 2021 Suns. After beating the mighty Thunder, with Wembanyama in tears, they felt internally that once they got past the West, the title was theirs—and many fans thought the same. Even after being down by 29 points in a comeback loss, some Spurs still believed they had controlled most of the game.

Some losses stem from inner arrogance—overestimating one's own abilities and underestimating how much the opponent has improved. Teams like the Knicks don't have a superstar like Wembanyama or a blue-chip prospect like Harper. But their determination to win surpassed everything, and the spirit of sacrifice was ingrained in their team culture.

It's rare to see a team replicate what the Knicks did this year. The team's best player took a significant pay cut, and everyone willingly passed the ball to Brunson, even though Brunson's efficiency was poor in several early games. No one stepped up to fight for the ball. Many of them were secondary or tertiary stars cast aside by their previous teams, all carrying a desire to prove themselves—yet all knowing how to sacrifice for the team's success.

Bridges was first traded because the Suns couldn't turn down the chance to acquire a superstar like Durant; he was traded a second time because the Nets couldn't refuse a package of five first-round picks. Usually, a player being traded indicates his value is declining, but for Bridges, every trade actually proved just how valuable he is.

To acquire Bridges, the Knicks gave up four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031), Milwaukee's 2025 top-4 protected first-round pick, and a 2028 pick swap with the Knicks. Such a steep price meant that if Bridges underperformed, people would inevitably say he wasn't worth five first-rounders.

Not long ago, right after Game 3 of the first round of this year's playoffs, famous commentator and Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith ranted: "I'm losing my mind! Mikal Bridges, the honeymoon is over, man. I can't believe the Knicks gave up five first-round picks for him."

In that game, Bridges played 20 minutes and 32 seconds, going 0-for-3 from the field and 0-for-2 from three, with 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, and 4 turnovers. He played less than five minutes in the second half and was benched in the fourth quarter—an utterly disastrous performance.

After that game, the Knicks were down 1-2 to the Hawks, but when the playoffs ended, the Hawks turned out to be the only team that beat the Knicks twice. Bridges's shooting heated up in the second round. In Game 2 of the Finals, he went 8-for-8 in the second and third quarters, scoring 20 points to help the Knicks take a 2-0 lead.

At that moment, I said Bridges didn't want to let history repeat itself. But over the next two games, Bridges shot a combined 4-for-14 for 9 points. When the Knicks trailed by 29 in the fourth game, the nightmare seemed about to resurface—until his teammates stepped up to save him.

In the close-out game, Bridges went 5-for-10 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, scoring 14 points with 4 assists—the second-highest scorer on the team after Brunson. After winning the title, Bridges spoke candidly about those picks: "I'm really grateful. But forget the picks. I know I've struggled at times and had issues, but trust me, I'll keep working."

Now we can say: Bridges was worth every single pick the Knicks gave up. The regrets of the past will eventually be made whole in the future.