Junior Bridgeman

Junior Bridgeman
Born	Ulysses Lee Bridgeman Jr. (1953-09-17) 17 September 1953 East Chicago, Indiana, U.S.
Died	11 March 2025(2025-03-11) (aged 71) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Other names	Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman Jr.
Occupation(s)	Professional basketball player, entrepreneur
Years active	1975–1987 (basketball)
Known for	NBA career with Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers; business ownership of fast-food franchises, Coca-Cola bottling, Ebony and Jet publications

Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman Jr. (September 17, 1953 – March 11, 2025) was an American professional basketball athlete and entrepreneur. Bridgeman’s NBA career spanned from 1975 to 1987, during which he played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. Following his retirement from basketball, he became a prominent business owner, managing hundreds of fast-food outlets, operating as a Coca-Cola bottler and distributor, and acquiring ownership of Ebony and Jet publications. Although his annual earnings in the NBA never surpassed $350,000, Bridgeman accumulated a fortune exceeding $1.4 billion, placing him among the richest former professional athletes worldwide.

Early life

Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Ulysses Lee Bridgeman Jr. was the son of Ulysses Lee Bridgeman Sr., who worked in a steel mill, and Delores (Meaders) Bridgeman, a homemaker. He attended Washington High School, where he contributed to the undefeated 1971 basketball squad that clinched the Indiana state championship. His teammates included his brother Sam Bridgeman, Pete Trgovich, and Tim Stoddard.

College career

Playing as a guard and forward, Bridgeman enrolled at the University of Louisville and competed for the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team. He earned the title of Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year consecutively in 1974 and 1975. Bridgeman guided Louisville to the 1974 NCAA Division I basketball tournament during his junior year and advanced to the Final Four in 1975, where they were narrowly defeated by the eventual champions, the UCLA Bruins. Over 87 collegiate games, he posted averages of 15.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.

Milwaukee Bucks (1975–1984)

Selected eighth overall in the first round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, Bridgeman was promptly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a transaction involving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

During his rookie season coached by Larry Costello, Bridgeman averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. With assistant coach Don Nelson taking over in the 1976–77 season, Bridgeman’s performance elevated to averages of 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, highlighted by a personal best of 41 points scored in December 1976. Nelson remained his coach for eight seasons.

Bridgeman played alongside key figures such as Bob Dandridge, Marques Johnson, and Sidney Moncrief during Milwaukee’s strong period marked by division championships from 1980 to 1984. Notably, he achieved a playoff career-high of 32 points with six assists during a 1981 Eastern Conference semifinals matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Los Angeles Clippers (1984–1986)

After nine seasons with Milwaukee, on September 29, 1984, Bridgeman was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with teammates Harvey Catchings, Marques Johnson, and cash considerations in exchange for Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges, and Ricky Pierce. On January 29, 1985, he delivered a standout performance by scoring 30 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Milwaukee Bucks (1986–1987)

After spending two seasons in Los Angeles, Bridgeman returned to Milwaukee for a final campaign before hanging up his jersey in 1987. During his tenure with the Bucks, he appeared in 711 games, setting a franchise record at that time—a milestone that was later eclipsed by Giannis Antetokounmpo in March 2023. Throughout his 12 seasons in the NBA, Bridgeman accumulated a total of 11,517 points.

Overall

Known predominantly as a sixth man, Bridgeman maintained an average of double-digit scoring for nine consecutive seasons. Numerous experts believe he might have secured multiple NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award titles had the accolade been established earlier. Over his entire career with both the Bucks and Clippers, he played in 849 contests, posting averages of 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 47% from the field and converting 84% of his free throws.

Following his playing days, Bridgeman held the position of president of the National Basketball Players Association from 1985 until 1988. He stepped down after the implementation of the 1988 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, amid disputes linked to the Junior Bridgeman antitrust lawsuit. This legal action contested NBA policies that limited free agency and involved salary cap manipulations, which had decreased players' share of league gross revenues from 61% during the 1983–84 NBA season to 54% in subsequent years.

Entrepreneurial career

During NBA off-seasons, Bridgeman acquired valuable insights into the Wendy's fast-food franchise system. Upon retiring from basketball, he invested in and ultimately owned a portfolio exceeding 450 fast-food establishments, including upwards of 160 Wendy's and more than 120 Chili's restaurants. In 2016, he divested 120 Chili's and 100 Wendy's locations to a private entity and initiated a Coca-Cola bottling enterprise to manage product distribution.

That same year, Forbes ranked Bridgeman as the fourth wealthiest retired athlete worldwide, estimating his net worth at $32 million—trailing only behind Michael Jordan, David Beckham, and Arnold Palmer.

As president and CEO of Bridgeman Foods Inc., he signed a letter of intent in 2018 to purchase Coca-Cola bottling operations within Canada. In December 2020, through Bridgeman Sports and Media, he acquired Ebony and Jet magazines for $14 million following their bankruptcy filings.

On May 26, 2022, Manna Capital Partners—an investment firm co-founded by Bridgeman—collaborated with Ball Corporation to establish an integrated secondary aluminum mill located in Los Lunas, New Mexico. Later that year, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced a $600 million investment by Manna Capital Partners into a beverage bottling plant in Hope Hull, Alabama, operated by its affiliate Manna Beverages & Ventures.

On September 24, 2024, the Milwaukee Bucks revealed that Bridgeman had acquired a minority ownership interest amounting to 10% of the franchise, which was valued at $4 billion. Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam remarked that Bridgeman purchased his stake at a discount relative to the franchise’s official valuation.

NBA career statistics

Source:

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1975–76 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 81 || – || 20.3 || .439 || – || .795 || 3.6 || 1.9 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 8.6 |- | align="left" | 1976–77 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 82 || – || 29.4 || .449 || .000 || .864 || 5.1 || 2.5 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 14.4 |- | align="left" | 1977–78 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 82 || – || 22.9 || .503 || .000 || .810 || 3.5 || 2.1 || 0.9 || 0.4 || 13.6 |- | align="left" | 1978–79 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 82 || – || 23.9 || .506 || .000 || .829 || 3.6 || 2.0 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 15.5 |- | align="left" | 1979–80 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 81 || – || 28.6 || .478 || .185 || .865 || 3.7 || 2.9 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 17.6 |- | align="left" | 1980–81 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 77 || – || 28.8 || .487 || .143 || .884 || 3.8 || 3.0 || 1.1 || 0.4 || 16.8 |- | align="left" | 1981–82 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 41 || 4 || 22.5 || .483 || .444|| .864|| 3.0||2.7||0.7||0.1||12.5 |- | align="left" | 1982–83 | align="left" | Milwaukee |70||5||26.5|| .492|| .077|| .837||3.5||3.0||0.6||0.1||14.4 |- | align="left" | 1983–84 | align="left" | Milwaukee |81||10||30.0|| .465|| .194|| .807||4.1||3.3||0.7||0.2||15.1 |- | align="left" | 1984–85 | align="left" | LA Clippers |80||15||25.5|| .465|| .359|| .879||2.9||2.1||0.6||0.2||13.9 |- | align="left" | 1985–86 | align="left" | LA Clippers |58||14||20.0|| .441|| .333|| .891||2.1||1.9||0..5||0..1||8..8 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- class="sortbottom" |}

Playoffs

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Personal life and death

Bridgeman was an active member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity throughout his life. In 2008, he earned a position on the Board of Directors of the PGA of America. Later, in 2010, he joined the board of governors at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2012 was appointed to serve on the board of Churchill Downs. His commitment to education included serving on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees from 2016 to 2017, as well as holding a trustee role at Simmons College of Kentucky.

After concluding his professional basketball career, Bridgeman frequently received recognition during Milwaukee Bucks home games and contributed to charitable initiatives through autograph sessions and special bobblehead events. Reflecting on the Bucks' journey to the NBA Finals in 2021, he expressed deep respect for their accomplishment despite having experienced losses in previous Eastern Conference Finals.

Bridgeman maintained a connection with Louisville’s Southeast Christian Church community until his passing on March 11, 2025, in Louisville, following a heart attack sustained at an event held at the Galt House Hotel; he was aged 71 at that time. A public memorial service took place on March 22 at the main campus of Southeast Christian Church to honor his memory and legacy.

Honors

• The Milwaukee Bucks retired Bridgeman's jersey bearing the number 2 in 1988.
• In 1999, he was honored with induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
• Bridgeman was enshrined in the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2007.
• He became a member of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2009.
• That same year, a section of Grace Street located in East Chicago, Indiana, was dedicated in his name.
• Bridgeman was inducted into the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2014.
• In recognition of his entrepreneurial success and community contributions, he received the Gold Cup award from Greater Louisville Inc. in 2019.

External links

• Profile at the Bucks' website