Milwaukee Bucks great Junior Bridgeman dies at 71

Junior Bridgeman, one of the great players in Milwaukee Bucks history and accomplished billionaire businessman, has died, the team announced Tuesday.

He was 71.

Bridgeman sustained a medical emergency at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville during a fundraising event Tuesday, The Courier Journal reported.

“The Milwaukee Bucks are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Bucks legend and owner Junior Bridgeman.

“Junior’s retired No. 2 jersey hangs in Fiserv Forum, serving as a constant remembrance of his outstanding play on the court and his impact on the Bucks’ success. 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, a 6-5 guard-forward, spent 10 of his 12 seasons with Milwaukee and finished with 11,517 points – 9,892 for the Bucks. He averaged 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists and posted a career-high 17.6 points per game in 1979-80. He had nine consecutive seasons scoring at least 12.5 points per game. He is the ninth-leading scorer in franchise history. He also played two seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Bridgeman, who played college basketball at Louisville, was part of Bucks teams, alongside Marques Johnson and Sidney Moncrief, that won 60 games in 1980-81 and won at least 50 games in seven consecutive seasons. The Bucks had competitive teams during the 1980s, reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 1983, 1984 and 1986. However, the Bucks lost to Philadelphia once and Boston twice.

“Just really a dark day, a tough day, losing Junior,’ Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters before Tuesday’ game against Indiana. ‘I’ve known Junior for probably, what am I, 60? I’ve known him since I was in college (at Marquette). He was one of the guys, him and Quinn Buckner, that would call me at Marquette to get me to go play with the Bucks of all places. When you think about Junior’s life, you know, I keep thinking about LeBron (James) and Magic (Johnson) and how influential they are to our league – and they are – and what they’ve done off the court is amazing. But the role model we should have is Junior Bridgeman when you think about it.”

Born in East Chicago, Indiana, on Sept. 17, 1953, Bridgeman excelled on the basketball court for Washington High and won a state title in 1971. He made the All-America team in his senior season at Louisville and was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year.

The Lakers selected Bridgeman with the No. 8 pick in the 1975 draft, and three weeks after the draft, they traded him to Milwaukee in a deal that involved Kareem Abdul-Jabbar going from the Bucks to the Lakers.

“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,’ NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. ‘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.’

Following his playing career, Bridgeman amassed a fortune in the hospitality industry, buying Wendy’s, Chili’s and pizza chain franchises. Bridgeman also owned and operated bottle manufacturing plants for Coca-Cola, and before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, Bridgeman became a partial owner of the Bucks, purchasing a 10% share. Last month, Forbes estimated his net wort at nearly $1.4 billion.

“It is a momentous occasion for our organization and the city of Milwaukee to welcome Junior Bridgeman to the Bucks’ ownership group,” Bucks co-owners Wes Edens, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Jamie Dinan and Mike Fascitelli said in a statement on Sept. 26.

Said Rivers: ‘I’m just so blessed. There’s a lot of benefits for me coming back to Milwaukee that I didn’t anticipate. I had no idea that Junior was going to get back into the Bucks and be an owner and then we restarted a relationship. We stayed in contact still throughout the years. He flew me down to go to the Kentucky Derby with him. So, we had a relationship, but I didn’t talk to him a lot and then all of a sudden he’s back in.

‘And you know when you tell people, seize the day and all this stuff – the last conversation I had with Junior was about using him to mentor the young players and try to figure out a way of doing that and we never got to it because you thought there was time. The second side of Junior was the first side though. When he was an NBA player, if you would have just met him on the street, you wouldn’t have known. He wouldn’t have told you and he didn’t act like it.

‘When he became a billionaire, you wouldn’t have known and he would not have told you and he didn’t act like it. The word gentleman is like gentle man and that is as good as you can get with Junior.’

Bridgeman is survived by his wife, Doris, and his children, Eden, Justin, and Ryan, according to the team.