• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Phoenix Sports Today

Phoenix Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Cardinals
  • Diamondbacks
  • Coyotes
  • Basketball
    • Mercury
    • Suns
  • Soccer
  • Colleges
    • Arizona State
    • Grand Canyon University
    • Northern Arizona
    • University of Arizona

Phoenix Suns’ Mikal Bridges named to NBA’s 1st Team All-Defense

May 21, 2022 by ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM

Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges was named to the NBA’s First Team All-Defense, the league announced on Friday.

He finished with the second-most points (193) and First Team votes (95) behind Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart’s 198 points on 99 First Team votes.

It is a first-time honor for Bridges after he finished 11th in voting for last season’s All-Defense teams.

Bridges also finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year after he cemented himself in his fourth season as one of the league’s best overall defenders.

RELATED STORIES
  • Suns’ offseason questions: How Phoenix can remake role player ecology

  • Focus should be on Chris Paul after Suns’ unexplained collapse

  • Suns’ offseason questions: Cam Johnson has earned expensive extension

  • Suns GM: ‘Luxury tax issues’ won’t prevent ability to keep team together

  • Suns GM believes Deandre Ayton will be back: ‘He’s a big part of what we do’

The 25-year-old is known for his ability to defend primary ball-handlers, ranging from players like the bigger and stronger Luka Doncic to the smaller and more agile Ja Morant.

The wing achieved stellar defensive performances while leading the league in total minutes at 2,854. Bridges also now holds the NBA’s longest current ironman streak of consecutive games played at 309, as he has yet to miss a game in his career.

Bridges is the first Suns player since Raja Bell in 2007 to make First Team All-Defense.

He is only the ninth player in franchise history to earn a spot on either the first or second team, joining Paul Silas, Dick Van Arsdale, Don Buss, Dennis Johnson, Dan Majerle, Jason Kidd, Clifford Robinson and Bell.

Silas, Buss, Johnson and Kidd all are tied for the franchise record of three total appearances on either team. Buss’ and Johnson’s were all on the first team.

Bridges is joined on the NBA’s First Team All-Defense by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marcus Smart.

The second team is comprised of Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, Jrue Holiday, Matisse Thybulle and Robert Williams III.

Follow @KellanOlson

Filed Under: Suns

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #96: 7/12 @ Angels
  • SBN Reacts: The player Suns fans are most excited to see hasn’t even touched the court yet
  • Bradley Beal to wait until July 15 payment before proceeding with Suns buyout?
  • The Arizona Diamondbacks and the 2025 Draft: Part Five
  • SB Nation Reacts Results: First-half MVP? We know it’s Geno!

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM
  • Bleacher Report
  • Heat Waved
  • OurSports Central
  • The Arizona Republic
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • AZ Snake Pit
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Venom Strikes

Basketball

  • Phoenix Suns
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • Bright Side Of The Sun
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Valley Of The Suns

Football

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Cardinals Gab
  • Cards Wire
  • Deep Dive
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Raising Zona
  • Revenge Of The Birds
  • Words From The Birds

Hockey

  • Elite Prospects
  • Five For Howling
  • Howlin Hockey
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • AZ Desert Swarm
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Devils In Detail
  • House Of Sparky
  • Last Word On College Basketball - Univ of Arizona
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog
  • Zona Zealots

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in