Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman (born September 17, 1953) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 years from 1975 until 1987, beginning with the Milwaukee Bucks. Bridgeman is the current owner of Ebony and Jet magazines. Despite never making more than $350,000 a season during his NBA career, Bridgeman has a net worth of over $600 million, making him one of the wealthiest former athletes in the world.[1]
As a rookie with Milwaukee in 1975–1976 under coach Larry Costello, Bridgeman averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.[5] In 1976–1977, Costello was fired by Milwaukee after a 3–15 start and assistant coach Don Nelson, who had been a player for the 1976 NBA champion Boston Celtics the year before, was hired as coach. Bridgeman improved, averaging 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. On December 15, 1976, Bridgeman scored a career-high 41 points in a 129–125 loss against Boston.[6] Nelson and Bridgeman were together for the next eight seasons.[7][8]
On April 5, 1981, Bridgeman scored a career playoff-high 32 points and recorded six assists in a Game 1 Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[9]
After spending two years in Los Angeles, Bridgeman returned to Milwaukee for one more season before retiring in 1987. He played in 711 games for the Bucks, at the time, the most in franchise history. This was surpassed on March 20, 2023, by Giannis Antetokounmpo.[4] In his 12-year NBA career, Bridgeman scored 11,517 total points.[citation needed]
Overall
Bridgeman was a sixth man for most of his career, averaging double figures in scoring for nine consecutive seasons. Some believe that if the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award had existed before the 1982–83 season, Bridgeman might have won it multiple times.[12] In his career with the Milwaukee Bucks (1975–1984, 1986–1987) and the Los Angeles Clippers (1984–1986), Bridgeman played in 849 total NBA games, averaging 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, shooting 47% from the floor and 84% from the line.[4]
Bridgeman also served as the president of the National Basketball Players Association from 1985 to 1988. Bridgeman resigned after the 1988 CBA and the controversy of the Junior Bridgeman antitrust lawsuit, in which NBA players sued the NBA for violation of antitrust laws. The players argued that by compensating to eschew from matching offers for free agents and abuse of the salary cap, total players' share of gross revenues decreased from 61 percent to 54 percent from the 1983–84 season.[13][14]
Entrepreneurial career
During the off-seasons of his playing career, Bridgeman worked and learned the business model of Wendy's fast food restaurant franchise. After retiring from the NBA, he invested in the franchise and eventually owned over 100 various Wendy's and Chili's restaurants, before selling in 2016.[15][16]
As President and CEO of Bridgeman Foods Inc, in 2017, Bridgeman became a bottler for The Coca-Cola Company,[18] and in 2018, he signed a letter of intent to buy bottling operations in Canada.[18]
In December 2020, Bridgeman, via Bridgeman Sports and Media, bought Ebony and Jet for $14 million after the magazines had declared bankruptcy earlier in the year.[19]
On May 26, 2022, Manna Capital Partners, an investment firm cofounded by Bridgeman, announced that the firm had partnered with Ball Corporation to construct and operate an integrated secondary aluminum mill in Los Lunas, New Mexico.[20] On October 18, 2022, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that Manna Capital Partners would invest in a bottling facility to be located in Hope Hull, Alabama and operated by affiliate Manna Beverages & Ventures.[21]
On September 24, 2024, the Bucks announced that Bridgeman had purchased a 10% interest in the team, with the deal valuing the franchise at $4 billion. According to Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam, Bridgeman purchased the interests of several minority owners at an undisclosed discount from the stated value.[22]
Bridgeman is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[23] In 2008, the PGA of America appointed Bridgeman to serve on the PGA Board of Directors.[24] The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame appointed Bridgeman to the board of governors in 2010.[25] Churchill Downs Inc. appointed Bridgeman to the company's board of directors in 2012.[26] In 2016–2017 Bridgeman was appointed and served on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees.[27][28] Bridgeman is also a key member of the Simmons College of Kentucky Board of Trustees.
Bridgeman has been honored numerous times at Bucks games since his retirement, and makes regular appearances at Bucks games for bobblehead nights and autograph signings during charity donation-drive events.[29][30]
On the Bucks’ appearance in the 2021 NBA Finals, and recalling his Bucks teams repeated Eastern Conference Finals losses, Bridgeman said "You know, we all wore the same jersey at some point in time. So, you feel a relationship there and you know, so much admiration for the guys that are able to get to the Finals. You know, that was our dream of ours and unfortunately, we ran into a couple of guys in Boston and Philly at the time, but they've been able to do it and just wishing them all the luck in the world."[33]
Honors
Bridgeman's no. 2 jersey was retired by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1988.
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