Phoenix Suns forward Miles Bridges plans to step up his defensive game playing for head coach Jordan Ott.
“He focuses on defense and rebounding, and that's something where I think I could take the next step in, and that's something that I've committed to taking the next step in,” Bridges said during his introductory press conference last month.
Suns general manager Brian Gregory believes Bridges will fit into how they like to guard.
“There’s a physicalness that he plays with, a versatility on the defensive end,” Gregory said during Bridges’ introductory press conference. “And when you talk about our defensive game plan, with the pressure that we put, the havoc that we try to create, the rebounding that we try to dominate, he brings all that to the table
every single day.”
If Bridges takes that next step and checks all those boxes playing the four, he can certainly help the Suns have a top 10 defense for a second straight season under Ott.
The Suns open the 2026-27 season on the road on Oct. 21, against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Phoenix ranked ninth in defensive rating in Ott’s first year as an NBA head coach, but it was 15th from Feb. 1 to the end of the 2025-26 regular season.
The Suns went 15-18 in that stretch to finish seventh in the West at 45-37. They reached the playoffs as an eighth seed through the Play-In tournament.
Bridges has averaged at least 20 points in three of his seven NBA seasons.
Averaging 17.1 points last season, Bridges scored 20-plus points 25 times last season, reaching a season-high 35 in a 118-111 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.
He’s a 6-7, 225-pound freak athlete who attacks the rim with speed, athleticism, strength and explosiveness.
However, what Bridges brings defensively is where he could make his biggest impact on winning in his first year in Phoenix.
His athletic ability enables him to make highlight defensive plays like the one he had against Cam Thomas to help seal a 105-102 win on March 8, 2025, over the Brooklyn Nets.
He left his man near the baseline in the paint, closed the space between himself and Thomas and swatted away the shot with 4.1 seconds while avoiding contact.
Bridges finished the play by tracking down the loose ball.
Then there’s his transition block on Davion Mitchell’s layup attempt to complete an emotional 127-126 overtime win on April 14, against the Miami Heat in the play-in.
That was his third block of the game.
Highlight defensive plays are one thing. They’re exciting. Go viral on social media.
Playing consistent defense and contributing to multiple stops in a row is what makes a great defensive team.
The more Bridges can help provide the latter, the better for Phoenix.
A strong defensive possession ends with a rebound.
The Suns were one of the NBA’s worst at that last season, ranking next to last in defensive rebounding. Only the Brooklyn Nets were worse.
Mark Williams led the Suns in defensive rebounding with 4.9 a game followed by Royce O’Neale, who played the four, at four a game.
Bridges averaged 4.9 defensive rebounds a game last season, a dip from averaging 6.3 in 2023-24 and career-best 6.4 in 2024-25.
The Suns need him to return to those previous numbers, but a case can be made for all their players to perform better in that area.
While controlling the defensive backboard is important, so is defending because it gives the team an opportunity to close the possession with a stop and the ball.
Last season, Bridges defended 890 shots in 77 games, allowing 413 field goals.
Translation: Opposing players scored 46.4% of the time against him.
To put that in perspective, New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby, an NBA All-Defensive Team second-team selection, defended 847 shots in 66 games, allowing 379 field goals.
Translation: Opposing players scored 44.7% of the time against him.
Bridges and Anunoby are listed at the same height. Anunoby is 15 pounds heavier at 240.
Here’s one more comparison.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, an NBA All-Defensive first-team selection, defended 965 shots in 69 games, allowing 396 field goals.
Keep in mind he’s 7-1.
Holmgren only allowed 41% shooting against him.
There are levels to this, but if Bridges could defend as well as Anunoby, the Suns will have someone versatile enough to guard the 3, dribble drives to the paint and switches.
Bridges does play with physicality and athleticism, but he’s coming off a season of career lows in blocks (0.4 a game) and steals (0.6 a game).
The Suns lived off forcing turnovers and turning them into points. They ranked third in forced turnovers at 16.3 a game and fifth in points off turnovers at 19.9.
Phoenix got younger trading away Grayson Allen, 30, and O’Neale, 33, to the Charlotte Hornets in acquiring the 28-year-old Bridges.
If Bridges can contribute to the Suns playing with more defensive pressure, they can remain one of the NBA’s best at generating turnovers and scoring off those miscues.
Having Bridges will enable Dillon Brooks to play the three more than he did last season.
“Miles is going to be able to give us that size, the agility, and the athleticism to guard the fours,” Brooks said during a press conference earlier this month.
“It’s going to make me be able to guard some of the wings and the guards, which I like, but it’s interchangeable with me and Miles. I'm going to challenge him to be able to guard guards and challenge him to be able to get out of his comfort zone to be able to make him better so you can guard any position, not only fours and threes, but, guarding guys like Kawhi Leonard to De’Aaron Fox.”
If Bridges can take on Brooks’ challenge and excel in it, the Suns should take a step up on the defensive end.
The West provides challenging matchups whether by position or on switches.
Looking at threes and fours, there’s Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün (Houston Rockets), Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers), Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder), Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks), Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. (Utah Jazz).
Then on a perimeter switch, Bridges could find himself having to check Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs) and Darius Garland (Los Angeles Clippers).
Bridges can score the ball.
His career high is 46 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 7, 2025. Ott saw that firsthand as a Cavs assistant. Bridges has three career 40-point games.
He’ll find offense playing with Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Brooks. Bridges can finish in transition and accumulate buckets in the halfcourt off ball movement, 3s and iso situations, particularly when backing down a small defender into the paint.
Defensively, he’s had good stretches, great moments, but has room to improve.
If Bridges does, he could have an even bigger impact on winning in Phoenix.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Miles Bridges can score, but Phoenix Suns need him to defend, too
