The NBA world lost a bit of an icon on Tuesday with the passing of Junior Bridgeman. While not widely known for his playing days in the NBA, Bridgeman was in the spotlight more for what he was able to accomplish after he had already retired from playing basketball. In fact, former NBA star Shaquille ‘Shaq' O'Neal was able to pick the mind of Junior Bridgeman when it came to off the court business.
At the time of his passing, Bridgeman was a part owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only that, Bridgeman was among the most wealthy former NBA players with stakes in multiple businesses.
Following the passing of Junior Bridgeman, Shaq spoke about how Bridgeman gave him the keys to success for being successful outside of the NBA.
“Everything that he did, I tried to pattern after him. . .this one really hit hard for me because he was definitely someone that I looked up to,” O'Neal said. “If it weren't for Bridgeman, I wouldn't have known where to start. . .he gave me all the secrets. He opened the book. . .definitely a dear friend.”
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Bridgeman was born in 1953 and was 72-years-old when he passed away from what's being reported as a medical emergency, as per Christopher Kuhagen of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Bridgeman's NBA career began in 1975 when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 8 overall pick in the draft. He was ultimately traded to the Bucks in the same deal that brought Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers.
The former Louisville star played nine seasons for the Bucks before traded to the Los Angeles Clippers alongside Marques Johnson. Bridgeman played two seasons for the Clippers before finishing his NBA career back with the Bucks.
During his 12-year career, Bridgeman holds career averages of 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists with splits of 47.5 percent shooting from the field, 24.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">David Yapkowitz is a basketball journalist for ClutchPoints, writing news on the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Basketball for both men and women. The Los Angeles native has bylines with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation, and The Next Hoops.