Milwaukee Bucks legend and minority shareholder Junior Bridgeman died at the age of 71..

The Milwaukee Bucks announced the unfortunate news on their official X (Twitter) account on Tuesday, confirming that the team's legend and minority shareholder Junior Bridgeman had passed away at the age of 71.

According to the Bucks' official tweet, Bridgeman suffered a heart attack while attending a charity fundraising event at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, and died on the way to the hospital by ambulance.

His death not only brought indescribable grief to his family and all past and current Bucks players, staff and fans, but also brought great losses to the basketball world and the American community that loves public welfare and charity activities. His retired No. 2 jersey will forever become a symbol of his legendary status from now on.

Regarding the sad news of Bridgeman's death, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said: "This is a difficult day, a really difficult day. He is exactly the role model that the league should use every day when talking to young players."

"We had a relationship, but I didn't talk much with him. Then suddenly he came back (with ownership). The last conversation I had with Junior was about letting him coach young players and trying to find a way to do it, but we never did it, you know, because we all thought there would be time later."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said: "I am very sad to learn of the sudden death of Junior Bridgeman. Junior is an ultimate entrepreneur who has made a fortune with his 12 years in the NBA. career and became a well-respected and successful business leader. ”

“He was a mentor to generations of NBA players and athletes from all sports who were eager to learn from him how to succeed in the business world. Junior was a loyal 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 an example by representing the league and our game with grace and dignity.”

“We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Junior’s wife Doris, their children Eden, Justin and Ryan, the Bucks organization and his many friends and fans in the basketball community.”

About Junior Bridgeman

Junior Bridgeman was born on September 17, 1953 in East Chicago, Indiana, USA. He was 1.96 meters tall and weighed 210 pounds. He played as a small forward or shooting guard.

Bridgeman was a member of the basketball team at Eastern Chicago Indiana Washington High School in his adolescence. He won the Indiana High School Basketball Championship with a record of 29 wins undefeated in 1971. His teammates at that time also included former Major League Baseball (MLB) legendary pitcher Tim Stottard.

After graduating from high school, Bridgeman joined the basketball team of the University of Louisville, the Louisville Cardinals, while studying at the University of Louisville.

During his three-year spell with the Louisville Cardinals, Bridgeman was selected the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 1974 and 1975.

At the same time, he also led the team to the semi-finals of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship once.

Bridgeman was later selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 8th pick in the first round of the 1975 NBA Draft, and was then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in June of the same year in exchange for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In his 9-year career with the Bucks, he was the third player in the team's history with the most appearances, the 10th player with the most playing time and the 9th player that have scored the most points. Later, in order to commemorate his contribution, the Bucks permanently retired his No. 2 jersey in 1988.

In 1984, Bridgeman was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Craig Hodges, but he returned to the Bucks two years later.

After retiring in 1987, Bridgeman began to successfully invest in business, making him one of the billionaires.

He has invested in the well-known fast food chain Wendy's and the American casual dining chain Chili's and opened hundreds of branches around the world. In 2016, he was named the fourth richest retired professional athlete in the world after Michael Jordan, David Beckham and Arnold Palmer by the United States' Forbes magazine with a personal net worth of $32 million at the time.

In September 2024, Bridgeman acquired a 10% stake in the Bucks, whose current market value has reached $4 billion, becoming one of the minority shareholders of the NBA Eastern Conference team currently spearhead by Giannis Antetokounmpo.