Jalen Lashaun Bridges (born May 14, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Valley Suns of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Baylor Bears.
 | |
| No. 15 – Phoenix Suns | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 14, 2001 Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 232 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Fairmont Senior (Fairmont, West Virginia) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2024: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2024–present |
| Career history | |
| 2024–present | Phoenix Suns |
| 2024–present | →Valley Suns |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
High school career
editBridges played basketball for Fairmont Senior High School in Fairmont, West Virginia. He helped his team win back-to-back Class AA state titles in his first two years.[1][2] As a senior, he averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, leading his team to its fourth straight state title game.[3] He won the Bill Evans Award as the top high school player in the state of West Virginia.[4] A consensus four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for West Virginia over offers from Miami (Florida), Indiana, Xavier and Alabama.[5]
College career
editAfter initially planning to play a postgraduate season, Bridges joined West Virginia for his first season as a redshirt.[6] On March 4, 2021, he recorded freshman season-highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 76–67 win over TCU.[7] As a freshman, Bridges averaged 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, earning Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors.[8] He averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Following the season, Bridges transferred to Baylor.[9] He averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior. Bridges declared for the 2023 NBA draft before withdrawing to return to Baylor.[10] He averaged 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game and was named to the Third Team All-Big 12.[11]
Professional career
editAfter going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Bridges signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns on July 4, 2024.[12]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | West Virginia |  Redshirt
| ||||||||||
| 2020–21 | West Virginia | 28 | 19 | 18.1 | .496 | .409 | .714 | 3.6 | .3 | .5 | .4 | 5.9 |
| 2021–22 | West Virginia | 33 | 33 | 26.8 | .428 | .325 | .823 | 4.8 | .8 | 1.0 | .7 | 8.4 |
| 2022–23 | Baylor | 34 | 34 | 27.3 | .506 | .324 | .778 | 5.6 | 1.0 | .9 | 1.0 | 10.3 |
| 2023–24 | Baylor | 35 | 35 | 31.7 | .466 | .412 | .823 | 5.7 | 1.4 | 1.1 | .6 | 12.2 |
| Career | 130 | 121 | 26.4 | .472 | .370 | .796 | 5.0 | .9 | .9 | .7 | 9.4 | |
References
edit- ^ Welch, Matt (March 19, 2021). "'All About Basketball': Jalen Bridges' Basketball Career Has Always Been About Learning". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ Brocato, Joe (October 30, 2020). "Fairmont Senior grad Jalen Bridges finds new shooting form, expanded game at WVU". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ Hunter, Greg (November 9, 2020). "Jalen Bridges Ready For His Mountaineer Debut". Blue Gold News. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ Hertzel, Bradley (March 24, 2019). "Fairmont Senior's Jalen Bridges wins Evans Award". The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Jalen Bridges commits to WVU basketball". Charleston Gazette-Mail. September 2, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ Hertzel, Bob (October 31, 2020). "Fairmont's Jalen Bridges adjusts his game for college play". Times West Virginian. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Jalen Bridges has a career-best game in leading No. 6 West Virginia past TCU". The Dominion Post. Associated Press. March 4, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ Callihan, Schuyler (May 19, 2021). "Jalen Bridges Switches Jersey Number". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ Watkins, Tim (April 20, 2022). "BREAKING: WVU Transfer Jalen Bridges commits to Baylor". 247 Sports. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ Peery, Wade (May 31, 2023). "Baylor small forward Jalen Bridges will withdraw his name from the 2023 NBA Draft". On3.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ Taylor, Cody (June 1, 2024). "Projected second-round pick Jalen Bridges 'forever grateful' to enter NBA draft". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ "SUNS SIGN JALEN BRIDGES TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT". NBA.com. July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.