Bridges’ ironman streak

Mikal Bridges pushed his consecutive-games streak to 638 on Sunday, stepping on the floor for 23 seconds in New York’s regular-season finale. (apnews.com) Bridges started against the Charlotte Hornets on April 12 at Madison Square Garden, committed a quick foul, and checked out with reserve Jordan Clarkson already heading to the scorer’s table. The Knicks lost 110-96. (espn.com) The appearance kept intact the longest active regular-season streak in the National Basketball Association and moved Bridges to 638 straight games without a miss since his debut on October 17, 2018. He recently passed Andre Miller for eighth place on the league’s all-time list. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com) New York had already locked up the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference before the finale, so the game carried more rest decisions than playoff urgency for the Knicks. Bridges was the only starter used in the opening seconds. (cbsnews.com, apnews.com) The cameo fit a pattern from the last two season finales. Bridges played four seconds at the end of the 2023-24 season and six seconds in the final game of the 2024-25 season to keep the streak alive. (nba.com, sports.yahoo.com) That has made the streak a durability record and a technical one at the same time: he has not missed a game, but he has also used brief appearances when New York had little reason to extend his workload. ESPN reported 18 players reached the final day of this season having appeared in every game. (espn.com) Bridges has said he does not enter seasons aiming specifically for 82 games, but he does not like sitting out. “I think I just try to pray for good health and do whatever it takes to be healthy and just try to be out there,” he said after the game. (apnews.com) For now, the number attached to Bridges is 638, and the postseason starts with the streak still unbroken. Sunday’s 23-second shift was enough to make sure of that. (nba.com, espn.com)