Junior Bridgeman

Junior Bridgeman speaks at an event in the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 25, 2020.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Junior Bridgeman, who was an All-American basketball player at the University of Louisville, a respected sixth man and NBA Players Association president during his 12 years in the NBA and one of the most successful post-basketball businessmen in NBA history, passed away Tuesday afternoon at the age of 71.

Bridgeman was born in East Chicago, Ill., the son of a steel mill worker who instilled in him two foundational traits: Hard work, and value of education. Bridgeman often remembered that when he was a boy, his family couldn’t afford the $1.25 membership fee to join the Boy Scouts.

It is telling that he became a prominent financial backer of the Boy Scouts, and it was at the Lincoln Heritage Boy Scout Council annual fundraiser at the Galt House that he died of an apparent heart attack.

Bridgeman will be remembered as that rare person who achieved basketball fame in a city where sports outrank almost anything, then eclipsed his athletic acclaim with the life he lived after the game, his leadership and generosity, his humility in all occasions, and his business brilliance.

A list of Bridgeman’s accomplishments and contributions would be impossible to compile, in part because Bridgeman rarely spoke about himself. Below are just some facts about the life of a Louisville giant.

1. LOUISVILLE LEGEND: Bridgeman was one of the first big-time recruits to sign on with Denny Crum at Louisville, was twice the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and was an All-American for Crum’s 1975 team that made the Final Four. Louisville went 72-17 in his three seasons. His career scoring average of 15.5 points per game still ranks among the Top 15 in school history. He is in the U of L athletic Hall of Fame and in 1988 was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.

2. SIXTH MAN: He was one of the best sixth men of his era in the NBA. Even before the term “sixth man” came into common basketball use, Bridgeman provided a spark off the bench for the Bucks. He was never honored as NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, but if the award had been given before the 1982-83 season, he might well have won it multiple times.

3. TRADED FOR KAREEM: Bridgeman was drafted No. 8 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975, but was then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a multi-player deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers.

4. BUCKS FRANCHISE LEGEND: He played 10 of his 12 NBA seasons in Milwaukee and the Bucks retired his No. 2 jersey in 1988 to honor his contributions to the franchise. He was voted to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame and a plaque in his honor was erected outside the Fiserv Forum in 1999.

5. PRESIDENT OF THE NBA PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: Bridgeman was well-respected by his NBA peers, and was voted treasurer of the NBAPA three times before serving four years as its president, where he contributed to players eventually winning the right to be free agents, with the lawsuit filed by players often referred to as the “Bridgeman Antitrust Suit.” He was vice chairman of the board of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame for eight years and served on its board for 15 years.

6. BUSINESS BEGINNINGS: Working with league owners, Bridgeman began to learn some business lessons. In a time before multimillion-dollar salaries for NBA players, he worked in the off-seasons, including at a Howard Johnson’s, and at Wendy’s Restaurants.

7. EARLY STRUGGLES: Bridgeman’s first big business venture, the purchase of a Wendy’s franchise in Brooklyn, N.Y., went sour after both players invested $150,000. The restaurant caught fire and burnt down. Silas got out, but when it was rebuilt, Bridgeman began to work on site, to get a closer look at how the business worked. He flipped burgers, mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms and worked cash registers. He would be a hands-on owner from then on.

8. BUILT A FAST-FOOD EMPIRE: From there, he acquired a handful of struggling Wendy’s franchises in Milwaukee, and was on his way. It wasn’t unusual to see Bridgeman there, working in his own restaurants. At its peak, his company, Bridgeman Foods Inc., owned over 450 restaurants, including Wendy’s, Chili’s, Fazoli’s, and Blaze Pizza locations nationwide.

9. COCA-COLA BOTTLING BUSINESS: In 2017, Bridgeman acquired Coca-Cola bottling rights in several U.S. states and Canada, significantly expanding his business portfolio.

10. MEDIA MOGUL: In 2020, he purchased Ebony and Jet magazines, preserving their legacy as important media outlets for African American culture.

11. BUCKS MINORITY OWNER: In 2024, he became a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, purchasing a 10% stake in the franchise, valued at $4 billion.

12. NET WORTH: As of 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.4 billion, making him one of the wealthiest former NBA players

13. COMMUNITY LEADER: In Louisville Bridgeman was a member of the U of L board of trustees, serving two stints as its chairman. He also was a major donor to the West End School in Louisville. He served on the boards of the Governors Scholars Program, Louisville Community Initiative, National Basketball Retired Players Association, Crusade for Children Foundation. He was a Capital Campaign Co-Chair for the African Heritage Foundation, and a supporter of the Muhammad Ali Center.

14. NBA MENTOR: Since the 1990s, Bridgeman has been an advocate for financial literacy for young NBA players, mentoring NBA rookies and veterans about financial responsibility since and warning them about the dangers of mismanaged money.

15. GENERATIONAL WEALTH ADVOCATE: Unlike superstars like Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, who built wealth through endorsements, Bridgeman's success came purely through business ventures. And he has worked to share his knowledge not only with members of his family but to younger NBA players and young business people of all kinds to ensure that they can benefit from his experience and example.

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