Junior Bridgeman was a model of excellence for the Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the NBA are mourning the untimely loss of Junior Bridgeman, who passed away Tuesday afternoon
The road to reach the NBA for Junior Bridgeman took a left turn just a couple of weeks after he was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 1975 NBA Draft.
Bridgeman knew something was up when the Los Angeles Lakers were pressuring him to sign his contract. “I felt they were especially pushy for me to sign this week. I figured that was the only thing holding the trade up.”1 Two days later, Bridgeman was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks, along with Dave Meyers, Brian Winters and Elmore Smith, in exchange for superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley.
Just like that, the start of Bridgeman’s NBA career was defined by being in one of the most consequential trades in NBA history. Abdul-Jabbar wanted to leave Milwaukee and Bucks general manager Wayne Embry saw this as an opportunity for the Bucks to press reset, especially after Abdul-Jabbar never felt at home in Milwaukee and had privately requested a trade before the start of the 1974-75 season.
As one of the prized additions, Bridgeman was confident that the Bucks — not the Lakers — would be on the better end of the deal. “Yeah, I’d have to say the Bucks got the best end of the deal. The Bucks might have the advantage because they got four real good players. They gave up Kareem and he might make up the difference. But still, the Bucks got enough guys so they can make a real good team.”2
The Bucks entered the 1980s wanting to build a team that could contend for championships. They went from green and growing to battling for division titles and along the way, bumped up against the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers in the East under the legendary Don Nelson throughout the decade. They made their runs as stars and franchise legends emerged in their own between Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Bob Lanier and Paul Pressey.
Throughout it all, the Bucks and Nelson could rely on Bridgeman as their handy sixth man. He was nicknamed “The Torch” for a reason and his outside shooting prowess added to the balanced scoring Nelson sought as he patterned his Bucks team to the Celtic teams he played on under Red Auerbach. The Bucks may have come up short in their pursuit of championships, but they were a model of success.
Junior Bridgeman died of a heart attack Tuesday afternoon during a speaking engagement in Louisville, KY. In college, he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds and led the Louisville Cardinals to a Final Four appearance before losing to John Wooden and the Marques Johnson-led UCLA Bruins in the 1974-1975 season.
Over the course of his 12-year NBA career, Bridgeman averaged 13 points and set the mark for most games played in Bucks history before he was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Marques Johnson before the 1984-85 season — a record that stood until Giannis Antetokounmpo surpassed that late in the 2022-23 season. He still ranks seventh in made field goals (4,142), ninth in points scored (9,892) and 10th in minutes played (18,054) in the Bucks’ record books.
Why Junior Bridgeman’s jersey hangs in the rafters
Bridgeman originally came to Milwaukee as part of a rebuild and now nine years later, he was being shipped out for another retool. Going from Milwaukee to Los Angeles wasn’t even something that he was welcoming at that stage in his life and career. “I felt more of a sense of rejection. All your life you play basketball with the idea that if you make the team, that’s it. Even when you hear rumors about a trade, it’s not like you’ve been totally cast aside. Now, I feel like they didn’t want me to play for them anymore. I had never felt that before in my life.” 3
Injuries had slowed him down during his two-year stay with the Clippers as did the culture shock of playing for an organization that was being run by Donald Sterling. Bridgeman’s NBA career seemed all but over when he was cut by the Sacramento Kings before the 1986-87 season. He’d have even set a date to retire on January 1, 1987. On New Year’s Eve that year, Nelson put in a call to Bridgeman and offered up a 10-day contract to the veteran with his Bucks team beset by injuries.4 Bridgeman’s Milwaukee homecoming came a few nights later as the Bucks beat the New Jersey Nets 124-112.
Every time Bridgeman entered the game, he was welcomed by long, standing ovations during introductions and the game itself from the sold-out crowd at the Milwaukee Arena. It was a night that made it hard for Bridgeman to concentrate on the game. “That makes your eyes water. There was a lot of emotion going back on that floor. It was very touching…All of the games I had here were not great games, but the fans always appreciated what you were trying to do. That means more to me than any one game.”5
He didn’t make it through the season without injury and when it was clear that he’d be lost for the season with torn cartilage in his knee just weeks before the Bucks started their playoff run, Bridgeman knew he couldn’t out run the end to his career. The Bucks promptly announced that they’d retire Bridgeman’s no. 2 jersey the following season.
During the Bucks’ 111-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17, 1988, Bridgeman became the fifth Bucks player to have his number retired by the franchise. His jersey retirement brought out his family, many of his former teammates, his former coach in Nelson — then a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors — Oscar Robertson, NBA commissioner David Stern and Larry Fleisher, the general counsel for the NBA player’s union. Bucks owner Herb Kohl said in his remarks, “In this organization, nobody has done a better job in an all-around way than Junior Bridgeman.”6
Once again, Bridgeman was moved to tears by the Bucks faithful when his jersey was raised to the rafters. It was fitting that the number is now forever associated with Bridgeman — with no one having worn it previously.
A legacy beyond the basketball court
For as successful of a player he was, playing basketball wound up being a small chapter in a life well lived and celebrated as one of the most successful post-playing careers for any athlete. He started a business empire during his Bucks days by owning and operating Wendy’s restaurants throughout Milwaukee and later throughout the country.
It was the start of building a fortune that saw Bridgeman become a true business magnate and eventually a billionaire just a month ago. And that’s not to mention his leadership as the president of the NBA players union during the twilight of his playing career from 1985 to 1988.
When he took on a minority ownership share in the Bucks last fall, it was a full circle moment for a franchise that he helped set the standard. As a player, Bridgeman did his part in what it means to be a Buck.
It’s why he felt a certain kinship seeing the Bucks make their title run during the summer of 2021. “"No matter what era, what time. 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."
The Chicago kid felt at home in Milwaukee and he embedded himself in the community by hosting basketball camps, was on the board of directors for the MACC Fund and his philanthropy was felt in immeasurable ways.
On multiple occasions, all roads led Bridgeman back to Milwaukee. He played a key part in the franchise’s second act, helping establish tradition and what it meant to be more than a basketball player. Wherever Junior Bridgeman went, the Bucks and the city of Milwaukee were made better for it.
And now, just months after buying a stake in the franchise he loved so dearly, in an arena that is a stone’s throw from where he shed tears watching his jersey rise up into the rafters, fans, front office personnel and players both current and former will look up at that same jersey and mourn the loss of a friend and NBA legend.
Tracy Dodds, "Meyers, Bridgeman Knew What Was Coming," Milwaukee Journal. June 17, 1975.
Mike Christopoulos, "Bridgeman Thinks Bucks Got Best of Deal," Milwaukee Sentinel. June 17, 1975.
Tom Enlund, "Bridgeman has needed time to get used to new life," Milwaukee Journal. November 18, 1984.
Tom Enlund, "Milwaukee wooed Bridgeman in time," Milwaukee Journal. January 4, 1987.
Tom Enlund, "Eye-watering night for Bridgeman," Milwaukee Journal. January 7, 1987.
Tom Enlund, "Number 2 is lifted by honor," Milwaukee Journal. January 18, 1988.