Junior Bridgeman Lived a Model Life on and Off the Court
Only a select few people make it to the NBA, let alone have a career lasting 12 seasons--but Junior Bridgeman's second act after he retired from the NBA was even more impressive than his playing career. Bridgeman, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday at the age of 71, built a business empire that vaulted his net worth to an estimated $1.4 billion, making him one of the five wealthiest retired athletes in the world. Bridgeman's diverse portfolio included hundreds of Wendy's and Chili's restaurants before he sold them in 2016, plus investments in Coca-Cola bottling, magazine publishing (he recently bought Ebony and Jet), and a 10% ownership stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, and he led Washington High School to the 1971 Indiana state high school championship with a 29-0 record. He then starred at the University of Louisville, earning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors in 1974 and 1975. During his senior season, Bridgeman led the Cardinals to the Final Four, where they lost in the national semifinals to eventual champion UCLA, 75-74.
The L.A. Lakers selected Bridgeman with the eighth overall pick in the 1975 NBA Draft, but before the season began the Lakers sent Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith, and Brian Winters to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley. Trading an all-time great like Abdul-Jabbar rarely works out well, but the Bucks went 38-44 in the first season after shipping out Abdul-Jabbar, matching their record in Abdul-Jabbar's final season with the team. Bridgeman averaged 8.6 ppg as a rookie.
Bridgeman ranked third on the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) in his second season, but the Bucks' record slipped to 30-52. Don Nelson replaced Larry Costello as Milwaukee's coach after the team started out 3-15, and the Bucks went 27-37 down the stretch, setting the stage for a string of winning seasons to follow.
The 1977-78 Bucks went 44-38. Bridgeman played in all 82 games and averaged 15.5 ppg. In his first five seasons, Bridgeman played in 81, 82, 82, 82, and 81 games. No load management back then; it was expected that players would play in as many games as possible, and it was a badge of honor to play in all 82 games.
Bridgeman came off of the bench for most of his career, and in the late 1970s/early 1980s he was one of the league's premier sixth men. The NBA did not give out the Sixth Man of the Year award until 1983-84, so prime Bridgeman missed out on potentially receiving that honor.
Bridgeman enjoyed his best season in 1979-80, averaging 17.6 ppg (second on the team) for the 49-33 Bucks, who lost 4-3 in the playoffs to the defending champion Seattle SuperSonics; the Bucks were a Western Conference team at that time, but they shifted to the Eastern Conference in 1980-81--and for the Bucks this was like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the 60-22 Bucks lost 4-3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Julius Erving-led Philadelphia 76ers, a squad that reached the NBA Finals in 1977, 1980, and 1982 before acquiring Moses Malone and winning it all in 1982-83.
I recently watched a video of game one of the 1981 Philadelphia-Milwaukee series. The 76ers won 125-122 as Erving scored a game-high 38 points, but Bridgeman stood out for Milwaukee as he poured in a playoff career-high 32 points on 12-19 field goal shooting. In that game, Bridgeman showcased his deadly midrange jumper--a lost art in today's NBA, but a thing of beauty to watch--and he also proved that he had some bounce by dunking in traffic.
The 76ers eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs in 1981, 1982, and 1983. The 1984 76ers were upset by the New Jersey Nets in the first round, and the Bucks reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling in five games to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics.
After the 1984 season, the Bucks shipped Bridgeman, Harvey Catchings, and Marques Johnson to the L.A. Clippers for Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges, and Paul Pierce. Bridgeman spent two seasons with the Clippers before they traded him to the Sacramento Kings, who then waived him. Bridgeman returned to the Bucks and played one last season with Milwaukee.
Bridgeman scored 11,517 career points, averaged 13.6 ppg, and sported a .846 career free throw percentage that still ranks 83rd on the ABA/NBA career list. His name is also visible throughout the Bucks' record book, including a third place ranking in career games played (711).
Many retired players struggle to adjust to life out of the spotlight--and to no longer receiving big paychecks--but Bridgeman proved to be an astute student of business; even more importantly, he was very generous with his time and with his money, serving as a role model and providing a blueprint for pro athletes who far too often lose fortunes after their playing days.
Today's NBA players would do well to not only learn from how Bridgeman played--showing up for every game, accepting whatever role he was given, and contributing to team success in every way other than three point shooting--but also how he lived his life off of the court.
Condolences to Junior Bridgeman's family and friends. He will be missed but not forgotten.
Labels: Julius Erving, Junior Bridgeman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers
posted by David Friedman @ 12:37 AM
Stephen Curry is the 30th Member of Pro Basketball's 25,000 Point Club
On Saturday March 8, Stephen Curry joined pro basketball's 25,000 point club while scoring a game-high 32 points as his Golden State Warriors won at home versus the much improved Detroit Pistons, 115-110. The NBA and its media partners count Curry as the 25,000 point club's 26th member because they stubbornly refuse to acknowledge ABA statistics, thereby wrongly excluding Julius Erving (who scored 30,026 career points), Dan Issel (27,482), George Gervin (26,595), and Rick Barry (25,279).
Curry joins Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, John Havlicek, Reggie Miller, and Jerry West on the list of players who scored at least 25,000 points while playing for one franchise.
Curry ranks fifth among active players on the career scoring list, trailing only LeBron James (the NBA's career scoring leader who is also the sole member of the 40,000 point club), Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. DeMar DeRozan needs to score 123 points to be the next member of the 25,000 point club. Chris Paul is 2158 points short, but the soon to be 40 year old has not scored 1000 points in a season since 2020-21 so it seems unlikely that he will join the 25,000 point club.
Curry, West, and Russell Westbrook are the only 25,000 point club members who are shorter than 6-4, which is yet another reminder of how much size matters in pro basketball. As I discussed in my article about Westbrook joining the 25,000 point club, Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, West, and Havlicek were the "charter" members of the 25,000 point club, and then the club added six members in the 1980s: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Dan Issel, Elvin Hayes, George Gervin,
Moses Malone and Rick Barry.
Even though the 25,000 point club is not as exclusive as it used to be, joining the club is still meaningful: a player who averages 25 ppg and plays in 80 games per season for 12 years would fall short, highlighting the combination of durability and high level productivity that it takes to surpass 25,000 points.
Labels: Dan Issel, George Gervin, Golden State Warriors, Jerry West, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry
posted by David Friedman @ 2:28 PM
Tatum Outshines Doncic and James as Celtics Beat Lakers, 111-101
Less than a week ago, I cautioned that before the L.A. Lakers are deemed to be legitimate championship contenders we need to see a larger sample size of games from them--and some games pitting the Lakers versus legitimate championship contending teams. ESPN termed Saturday night's clash featuring the Lakers versus the Boston Celtics to be the game of the year. At least ESPN did not call it the game of the century, though perhaps that would have happened after the game if the Lakers had prevailed to sustain the narrative of the past few weeks that the Lakers are the best team in the league. As it turns out, the Celtics built a 22 point lead, let the Lakers back in (thank you, high variance three point shooting), and then settled for a 111-101 victory.
ESPN devoted most of its pre-game hype to the Lakers' LeBron James and Luka Doncic, but greatness is determined by what happens on the court, not what is said in ESPN's studio--and, on the court, Boston's Jayson Tatum authored a masterful performance with a game-high 40 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, and a team-high eight assists. It will be interesting to see if the best player on the reigning NBA champions--a team that currently has the third best record in the league--cracks the top five in regular season MVP voting, an honor that is selected by people who often seem to be more swayed by hype and narratives than by objective evidence. Tatum does not hype himself, and he does not have a team of sycophants hyping him up; he just shows up and produces. Jaylen Brown added 31 points and six rebounds, while Al Horford made his presence felt with 14 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Doncic scored a team-high 34 points, but he also had a game-high five turnovers and a game-worst -19 plus/minus number. James had 22 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and a game-high nine assists, but he had a -11 plus/minus number before sitting out the final 6:44 with a groin injury. The Celtics led 94-85 when James left the game, and the Lakers pulled to within four (99-95) on a Doncic three pointer with 4:36 remaining, but in a little over two minutes the Celtics built the margin back up to 10 and they led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Lakers were without the services of injured starting center Jaxson
Hayes, but the Celtics were without the services of injured starting
center Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis is a former All-Star with career
averages of 19.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 1.8 bpg; Hayes has career
averages of 6.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and .7 bpg while starting just 71 of his
351 career games. If both teams had been at full strength, the Celtics
would have enjoyed even more matchup advantages than they did in this
game, particularly in the paint. The Lakers went 20-4 in their 24 previous games, and during that run they ranked first in the NBA in paint points (44.3 per game), but the Celtics outscored the Lakers 48-38 in the paint.
TNT's Charles Barkley famously said earlier this season "The Lakers stink," and he only backed down partially in the wake of the Lakers' recent surge, noting that the season started last October, not in January--the point being that to win a championship a team must maintain greatness for a sustained period. There are valid reasons to question whether the Lakers can win the four playoff series necessary to claim the NBA title, including their lack of size, James' age (he is the most remarkable 40-plus year old NBA player ever, but the clock is going to strike midnight sooner rather than later), and Doncic's health (he has been dogged by nagging injuries throughout this season). The Lakers' lack of size puts extra pressure on James and Doncic to rebound and defend, which in turn makes it more likely that they will get worn down and/or injured.
James is an all-time great, but is he better than Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or Jayson Tatum right now? To win the 2025 NBA title, James might have to outduel all three of those players--and the strong teams that they lead in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Boston respectively. The Cleveland Cavaliers do not have a player of the caliber of Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, or Tatum but Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are having All-NBA caliber seasons, and the Cavaliers have other excellent players, including Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen.
The Lakers did not look like a well-coached team when they started the season 13-9, but now the prevailing narrative is that J.J. Redick is a great coach, and any evidence to the contrary is just ignored. During the first half--before the Celtics took over the game--ESPN's Richard Jefferson listed his buddy Redick among potential Coach of the Year candidates, but omitted Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson; all Atkinson has done is lead the Cavaliers to an NBA-best 53-10 record after the Cavaliers went 48-34 last season. Unlike the Lakers, the Cavaliers have been consistently great this season.
The amazing thing about Redick's Lakers is that they never have the wrong defensive scheme or overall game plan; if the Lakers fail, it is 100% the players' fault--and if you are not sure about that, just ask Redick or his media buddies like Jefferson, and they will set you straight. On a more serious and less sarcastic note, ESPN's Bob Myers--frequently the lone voice of a reason on a studio show including "Screamin' A" Smith and Kendrick Perkins--pointed out the incredibly low percentage that the Lakers' opponents have shot on wide open attempts, which Myers called "L-U-C-K." Another word for a defense that has been successful despite giving up a slew of uncontested shots is "Unsustainable." The Celtics shot worse than they usually do from three point range and the free throw line, and they still beat the Lakers by double digits.
There is no doubt that the Lakers are better now than they were at the start of the season. The 26 year old Doncic made the All-NBA First Team each of the past five seasons with Dallas before the Lakers acquired him last month, and he is an upgrade over the 31 year old Anthony Davis (even before Davis suffered yet another injury). However, the Lakers have a lot to prove before they jump the line ahead of teams that have been great all season, including Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Boston.
Labels: Al Horford, Boston Celtics, J.J. Redick, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Luka Doncic
posted by David Friedman @ 12:43 AM
