With the 2025 NFL Draft now complete, most of the attention in the sports world has shifted to the NBA playoffs.
One of the most intriguing matchups in the second round is the New York Knicks taking on the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
The Knicks stole a win on the road in Game 1 after overcoming a 20-point deficit to force overtime. Mikal Bridges solidified the victory when he stole the ball away from Jaylen Brown as the clock expired.
A reporter compared Bridges to New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner after the game, but Bridges corrected him and said he is more like Ahkello Witherspoon as a nod to his support for the Los Angeles Rams, via New York Basketball:
Fred Katz "Last play of game you stole ball…pass tracks over your head…where you looking?"
Mikal Bridges "Cam…how I track the ball?"
…
Cam Payne "Rams?"
…
MIkal "I'm a football guy…watching his eyes…"Fred "You're Sauce Gardner"
Mikal "Witherspoon…I'm a Rams fan"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 6, 2025
Bridges was born and raised in Philadelphia, but he said in a previous interview that he became a Rams fan after playing with them so many times in Madden.
Bridges once had a friendly wager with then-Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets teammate Cameron Johnson when the Rams played the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams won, so Johnson was forced to run a lemonade stand in Phoenix for two hours.
It’s cool that Bridges supports the Rams despite being on the other side of the country, and even cooler that he gave a shoutout to Witherspoon, who was one of the team’s unsung heroes on defense in 2024.
The 30-year-old recorded 31 total tackles, nine passes defensed and an interception in 13 games for the Rams last season (five starts). He entered the starting lineup in Week 15 and immediately helped transform the unit.
Ahkello Witherspoon ‘excited’ to compete with Davante Adams on Rams
After re-signing with the Rams, Ahkello Witherspoon said he is most excited to compete with future Hall of Famer Davante Adams next season.
“I think for me personally, it’s the first moment where I get overly excited, where I’m not really inside of myself when I see them sign a guy like Davante Adams because that’s the joy and the passion for me is being able to compete against somebody like that on a daily basis and take that training to go to play on game day,” Witherspoon said.
“It’d be much calmer and much simpler because I’ve had elite reps against guys like Davante, Puka [Nacua] and [Seattle Seahawks WR] Cooper [Kupp] when he was here. Those are the moments that I love. I’m just excited about a space that’s improving, trying to take the next steps and wanting to be a part of it.”
