NBA star Mikal Bridges fulfills his childhood dream by becoming a second-grade teacher for a day

What more could an already successful basketball star ask for? In the case of New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, there was still one unfulfilled dream—becoming a second-grade teacher. As unbelievable as it may sound, he recently achieved it, even if only for a day. And the 28-year-old athlete was nothing short of endearing in his new role, to say the least.

CBS News rode along Bridges to PS 134 in the borough, where he taught second-grade students despite a long night of defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-101. "My other dream was being a second-grade teacher," he told the media outlet. "I think just helping kids has always been a big thing of mine." When asked why he specifically wanted to teach second grade, Bridges explained, "Because I loved second grade when I was young." 

He continued, "I feel like that was one of the years I really remember. Just having a great year. I had a great teacher named Ms. Porter and just I feel like I always loved second grade." It seems his beloved teacher, Ms. Porter, had a profound impact on him, sparking his dream. Despite the lack of sleep, Bridges was wide awake for his first-ever teaching session and shared, "Their energy was just like, what got me going so fast. They got me excited." 

The students were equally excited to meet their substitute teacher, and Bridges had an eventful day that began with a gym class with fourth graders. Later, he attended a music class, where he struggled to play the xylophone, but the kids came to his rescue. "They were teaching me on the little xylophone. I didn't know what I was doing, what the teacher was teaching. The kid next to me was pointing at the board like, 'Follow that, follow that.' I'm like, 'Oh, ok. That makes sense,'" he shared.

Bridges also had the opportunity to teach his favorite subject, math. "Math came easy to me," Bridges recalled. "I feel like I was probably one of the smartest math kids in our class." Some students even took the chance to ask questions, one of which was, "Why didn't you be a teacher if you wanted to be?" Bridges replied, "Because of basketball. But basketball doesn't go [on] forever. This is just the first part of my journey, so I think teacher is going to come up next." 

And he wasn’t just making up that answer. Bridges meant it, as he told CBS that he hoped to either become a teacher or a principal after his NBA career ends. "I think they [teachers] just don't get enough credit. Because we're around them a lot. And they help us become better people every day. And I think some are overlooked a little bit," he said. Fans were in awe of Bridges' teaching aspirations alongside his basketball career. The children gave the star a warm welcome, eager to learn from him and have him be a part of their class.