As Mikal Bridges chases an NBA championship with the New York Knicks, the Great Valley High School graduate is carrying a story rooted in perseverance and a mother’s belief in her son, writes Alex Coffey for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bridges’ journey began with his mother, Tyneeha Rivers, who grew up in West Philadelphia.
Rivers was 19 when Mikal was born, a first-generation college student who had to leave school and start over one class at a time, one paycheck at a time. She was determined to create opportunities for her son that she never had herself.
The family later settled in Devon, where Bridges developed his love for basketball. Rivers clocked long hours, working her way up from a mailroom job while pouring every spare dollar into basketball camps, coaches, and travel teams.
She drove 600 miles to tournaments and attended every game. At home, she ran her own accountability program: miss a free throw, drop and do pushups. Bridges now shoots 84 percent from the line in the NBA.
Those sacrifices helped pave Bridges’ rise from Malvern to Villanova, where he won two NCAA championships, and eventually to the NBA.
“…I just quietly weep sometimes. I’ll remind myself of where we were, and where we are,” said Rivers.
Now playing in his second NBA Finals, Bridges remains connected to the woman who made it all possible.
For more on the bond between Tyneeha Rivers and Mikal Bridges and his path to basketball’s biggest stage, read the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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