Junior Bridgeman was a Louisville basketball great, 12-year NBA veteran and billionaire businessman who purchased a stake in the Bucks franchise he played for. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
(Paras Griffin via Getty Images)
Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, a star of the 1975 Louisville Final Four team and 12-season NBA veteran whose business ventures after basketball made him a billionaire, has died at 71.
Per the Louisville Courier-Journal, Bridgeman suffered a medical event during a fundraiser at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville on Tuesday. His death was confirmed to the Courier-Journal by the Al J. Schneider Company, which owns the Galt House. Details of his death, including a cause, were not immediately clear.
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The Milwaukee Bucks, with whom Bridgeman played for nine NBA seasons, issued a statement Tuesday evening with condolences to Bridgeman’s family.
“Junior’s retired No. 2 jersey hangs in the Fiserv Forum, serving as a constant remembrance of his outstanding play on the court and his impact on the Bucks’ success,” the Bucks’ statement reads.
“His hard work and perseverance led him to become one of the nation’s top business leaders and, last September, Junior’s professional life came full circle when he returned to the Bucks family as an owner. His memory will always be an inspiration to the Bucks organization.”
Bridgeman played three seasons for Louisville from 1972-75 as one of the program’s all-time greats. A 6-foot-5 wing, Bridgeman was named to the All-MVC team in each of this three seasons and was a two-time MVC Player of the Year.
Bridgeman led Louisville to the 1975 Final Four, where the Cardinals lost in overtime to UCLA, which went on to secure John Wooden’s 10th and final NCAA title. Bridgeman averaged 15.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and three assists during his three seasons at Louisville.
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Bridgeman was the No. 8 pick of the 1975 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers then traded Bridgeman to the Bucks in the deal to acquire Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. Bridgeman played his first nine seasons with the Bucks before a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Clippers. He played one final season in Milwaukee before retiring from the NBA in 1987.
For his career, Bridgeman averaged 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. The Bucks retired his No. 2 jersey. Bridgeman returned to the Bucks as a 10% owner of the franchise in 2024.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement Tuesday upon Bridgeman’s death.
“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,” Silver’s statement reads. “Junior was the ultimate entrepreneur who built on his impactful 12-year NBA playing career by becoming a highly respected and successful business leader.
He served as a mentor to generations of NBA players and athletes across sports who were eager to learn from him about what it takes to thrive in the business world. Junior was a dedicated member of the NBA family for 50 years – most recently as a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, an investor in NBA Africa and as a player who set the standard for representing the league and our game with class and dignity.”
After basketball, Bridgeman embarked on several successful business ventures that started with the purchase of three Wendy’s fast-food franchises. Per the Courier-Journal, Bridgeman went on to become one of the nation’s largest restaurant franchise operators and expanded his business to ownership of a Coca-Cola bottling operation.
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In 2020, Bridgeman purchased Jet and Ebony magazines with his daughter Eden Bridgeman Sklenar for $14 million and helped revive the publications from bankruptcy as a digital operation. Sklenar is the CEO of the publications.
In February, Forbes estimated Bridgeman’s net worth at $1.4 billion. Bridgeman is survived by his wife, Doris, and his three children, Eden, Justin and Ryan.
