Junior Bridgeman — former NBA player and accomplished businessman — died in March 2025 after reportedly suffering from a heart attack in Louisville, Kentucky. He was 71 and is survived by his wife and family. Bridgeman built a substantial post-basketball career for himself thanks to owning restaurants and Ebony and Jet magazines, becoming a minority owner for the Milwaukee Bucks and working as a philanthropist.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver reacted to Bridgeman’s death in a statement, obtained by ESPN, extending the league’s “heartfelt condolences to Junior’s wife, Doris, their children, Eden, Justin and Ryan, the Bucks organization, and his many friends and admirers in the basketball community.”
“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,” Silver’s statement read. “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.”
Below, learn more about Bridgeman’s wife and kids.
Before being drafted in the NBA, Bridgeman grew up in East Chicago, Indiana. He found a love for basketball and eventually starred in the Washington High School Senators’ 1971 championship team. In 1975, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers then was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks weeks later. He played for the Bucks for most of his NBA career except for a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Clippers from 1984 to 1986.
Thanks to Bridgeman’s business endeavors following his NBA career, he racked up a net worth of $1.4 billion, Forbes reported, per ESPN. According to the sports outlet, Bridgeman never made more than $350,000 in a basketball season while playing in the NBA.
