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NBA Tyler Kolek and Mikal Bridges (25) of the Knicks dap during a game against the Toronto Raptors last season. Nathaniel S. Butler / Getty Images CHICAGO — It was just before the start of the third quarter in the Knicks’ home opener when Ariel Hukporti was pulled to the side. The final pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Hukporti had found himself starting for just the second time in his career when the helping hand of Mikal Bridges proceeded to go over tricks of the trade with the center in the pick-and-roll. Bridges was talking, dribbling and moving Hukporti around. It’s as if the second half had already started. Hukporti was listening intently, hanging onto every word from his senior teammate. Advertisement “That was the first vet, when I came in, who took me under his wing right away, ” Hukporti said. If you know anything about Bridges, what took place at halftime that night is a common occurrence. The 29-year-old has taken every young Knicks player under his wing since his arrival last offseason. It’s what Ryan Anderson did for him when Bridges was a rookie in Phoenix, and then later Chris Paul and Jae Crowder. Before that, it was Darrun Hilliard and Jay Vaughn Pinkston at Villanova. In the snap of a finger, Bridges, who signed a four-year, $150 million extension this offseason, has become all the players who helped him settle into the NBA. He has transitioned from a promising youngster seeking wisdom to a proven veteran providing it. It’s the type of stuff that doesn’t show up in the box score, but goes a long way in building a winning organization. “Throughout the games, (my vets) just let me be me and gave me confidence, ” Bridges told The Athletic. “I think it was just being a friend. I knew who Ryan was. Him being friends with me and giving me confidence and compliments was like, ‘Oh, dang! ’ “When I was in Phoenix, we didn’t have a lot of young guys. I didn’t really have the opportunity to (be a vet). But then when I got to Brooklyn, I had the opportunity where I had a lot of young guys. For me, to be a good leader, I want to get close with everyone, get to know them and see what they’re about. It makes it easier when I get on them or coach them because they know it’s coming from love. ” Bridges’ first season in New York was bumpy on the court — like Ace Ventura behind the wheel levels of bumpy. He’ll be the first to tell you that. However, his lack of comfort between the lines didn’t stop him from being a mentor. He was succeeding every day there. Now, four games into Year 2 in Manhattan, Bridges has started the season as well as anyone could hope. He’s shooting the ball at a high level from all over the 3-point line. Last season, his 3s only fell from the corner. He’s defending with the physicality and smarts that made the Knicks trade a handful of draft picks for him, which wasn’t always the case last season. He’s traded in some of his mid-range shots for layups and free throws. Advertisement All while doing that in a Mike Brown system that appears tailor-made for Bridges’ style, he’s still offering a helping hand and comforting voice. Only this time around, he’s sharing the floor with the youngsters he helped prepare behind the scenes. “You can see that when he was a younger guy in the league that he had those vets, too, ” Tyler Kolek said. “They built a culture of brotherhood. You don’t see that every day in the NBA nowadays. (Mikal) was so welcoming and teaching us the little things, and not just the basketball stuff. He shows us how to move, how to be a man and be an actual professional. ” Last summer, Pacôme Dadiet didn’t just enter the sport’s most prestigious club as a teenager, he moved to a new country an ocean away. The Frenchmen’s head was spinning as his world was changing quickly. At the same time, Bridges was coming to the Knicks. His path to Madison Square Garden wasn’t as long as Dadiet’s. It was just over the Brooklyn Bridge. Yet, even while Bridges was getting acclimated to his new surroundings and heightened expectations, he made it a point to make sure that his new rookie teammate was getting equally as comfortable. “We live like two minutes from each other, ” Dadiet said. “He made it way easier. ” Unlike Hukporti and Kolek, Dadiet is still waiting his turn to show what he can do at this level. In the meantime, Bridges continues to tutor the young wing as if his time is as valuable as anyone else’s. Dadiet asks Bridges questions from the bench. The two watch film together. “I want to see what he’s doing on the court, ” Dadiet said. Bridges has a unique handshake with nearly everyone on the roster. He and Kolek, for example, do several front-and-back hand claps, skip in place and then salute. “It just evolved over time, ” Kolek said. “You add one thing, then another and then something else happens to it. We both add to it. ” Advertisement Bridges’ role on the court for the Knicks is to bring everything together. He’s the one who handles the ball most when Jalen Brunson is taking a break. He’s the one who adds points between Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns piling them in. He provides extra hands for rebounds. He’s often at the point of attack defensively. Behind the scenes, he plays a similar role. He played college ball with Brunson and Josh Hart. He’s in with the young crowd. He’s a connecter. It’s hard to ignore how at home Bridges now looks through the season’s first two weeks. He’s comfortable, confident. Bridges is doing everything he can to help the Knicks break through. “To have a guy like Mikal on your roster is unbelievable, ” Brown said. “It’s not just because he’s a great basketball player and brings a lot of versatility on both ends of the floor, but he’s a fantastic, fantastic human being. You can tell his momma raised him right. ” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle James L. Edwards III is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Knicks. Previously, he covered the Detroit Pistons at The Athletic for seven seasons and, before that, was a reporter for the Lansing State Journal, where he covered Michigan State and high school sports. Follow James L. on Twitter @JLEdwards III