Players come and go from teams every single year in the NBA. The league you know now will not be the same league a month from now. Fans attach themselves to players, and eventually those players will be wearing another team's colors.

8 years ago, the Charlotte Hornets owned the 11th overall pick in the NBA Draft. Bleacher Report mocked them selecting Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, The Ringer and ESPN said Alabama guard Colin Sexton, and NBA Draft Room said Missouri wing Michael Porter Jr.

As the clock started for the Hornets, they eventually went on to select Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 14.4 points per game in 37 games for Kentucky.

His time with Charlotte was short though, as the team promptly dealt him to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers owned the very next pick, and selected forward Miles Bridges from Michigan State. Along with two future second-round picks, the Clippers and Hornets swapped their first-rounders, meaning Miles Bridges would be a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

As Bridges slowly developed with the team, he nearly made his first career All-Star game during the 2021-22 season. That year, Miles averaged 20.2 points per game, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and was 18th in the league in offensive-RAPM.

The Hornets were blossoming. Charlotte had reached the Play-In Tournament in each of the previous two seasons, led by a young core that involved Bridges and All-Star LaMelo Ball, and veterans such as Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier.

Charlotte was building towards becoming a perennial playoff team, and had a future that looked incredibly promising.

But that promising future came to an abrupt halt in the summer of 2022.

In June, Bridges was arrested following a domestic violence incident involving his then-partner. He later pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge, which resulted in three years of probation. The NBA went on to suspend him for 30 games, 20 of which he served during the 2022-23 season.

Miles missed the entire 2022-23 season, which left Charlotte without one of its most important players as the franchise tried to build on its recent success. His return in 2023 marked the beginning of a complicated next chapter in Charlotte.

Though he remained a productive player on the court, Bridges' relationship with the fanbase could never be seperated from what happened.

Despite everything that happened, Bridges ended up returning to the Hornets for the 2023-24 season. He continued to remain one of Charlotte's primary weapons, where he averaged 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds across 69 appearances.

In his first two seasons upon returning to the team, Charlotte was never able to capture the momentum they had built during the 2021-22 season. From 2023-24 to 24-25, the team won 40 total games, finishing with a total record of 40-124.

During the 2025-26 season, the team managed to re-capture that momentum. After a disappoitning 16-28 start where it seemed relying on lottery balls was imminent, Charlotte rattled off a 28-10 finish to their season.

Bridges was a key contributor in Charlotte's starting lineup during the season, which consisted of him, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller and Moussa Diabaté. The starting five played 509 minutes together, putting out a +26.0 net rating, and a 137.4 offensive rating.

After a disappointing loss in the Play-In Tournament to the Orlando Magic, Bridges time with the franchise came to an end.

Shortly after the team dealt another member of the starting five in LaMelo Ball, Bridges was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick.

Through his first 10 games with the Suns, Bridges is averaging 15.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, a career-high 1.1 steals, and is shooting 56.1% from true-shooting.

Tonight, Bridges prepares to face off against the team where he spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career. For Charlotte fans, Bridges' departure represents the end of an era that never reached the heights many had thought of during the first two seasons.

"It was a grind," Bridges said about his time with the Hornets pregame. "Really taught me how hard it is to win in the NBA. I thought we had a pretty solid team to make the playoffs and we didn't."

What once looked to be a promising young core ended up going in a different direction, as Bridges and Ball now wear other team's uniforms.

Bridges' time in Charlotte still remains the most significant part of his NBA career. Under several head coaches, ownerships and front offices, Bridges managed to develop into a 20-point-per-game scorer with the Hornets, and experiences some of the franchise's most promising seasons in recent memory.

Players come and go, and the NBA never looks the same for long. For Miles Bridges, Charlotte was where he developed into an NBA starter, and established himself as a real scorer in the league. Tonight, he'll have to do it against the franchise that first gave him that opportunity.