Alright, hoop heads, buckle up! We’ve got some juicy news about a Bucks legend making big moves off the court.
Junior Bridgeman’s Big Buy-In
So, here’s the scoop: Junior Bridgeman, the former Milwaukee Bucks forward/guard, is snagging a 10% ownership stake in the team. Yep, you read that right. According to CNBCโs Michael Ozanian and Jessica Golden, Bridgeman is getting in on the action with a sweet deal.
A Sweet Discount for a Savvy Investor
NBA owners are gonna get the memo about this sale on Thursday. And get thisโBridgeman is getting a preferred limited partner discount of 15%. That means he’s buying in at a $3.4 billion valuation, while the whole team is valued at $4 billion. Talk about a steal!
NBA’s richest players looks like this:
MJ
Magic
Lebron
Junior BridgemanMany of you don’t know the 4th name, he averaged 13 ppg and was never an All-Starโฆ
He now has a net worth of $600M and is the Bucks newest owner
This is the story of Junior Bridgeman
โ Frank Michael Smith (@frankmikesmith)
In April 2023, Marc Lasry sold his 25% stake in the Bucks to the billionaire Haslam family. Back then, the team was valued at around $3.2 billion. Bridgemanโs discount really shows how much the value has jumpedโby about $800 million. I think that’s a pretty solid investment, don’t you?
From Buck to Business Mogul
Bridgeman isn’t just about basketball. This guy’s got a net worth of nearly $600 million, according to ESPNโs Baxter Holmes. He owns Ebony and Jet magazines and has stakes in Wendyโs, Chiliโs, and Heartland Coca-Cola. Forbes even ranked him the fourth-wealthiest retired athlete in 2016, right behind legends like MJ, Beckham, and Palmer. Not bad for a guy who averaged 13.6 points per game, huh?
A Career to Remember
Junior Bridgeman played 10 seasons with the Bucks from 1975 to 1984 and had one last hurrah in 1986-87. Drafted eighth overall by the Lakers in ’75, he was shipped to Milwaukee as part of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trade. In his 849 NBA games, he put up solid numbers: 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Oh, and he shot a cool 47.5% from the field and 84.6% from the line.
After nine straight seasons with the Bucks, he got traded to the Clippers in ’84 but returned to Milwaukee for his final season in ’86-87. He retired with 711 games under his belt for the Bucks, a record that stood until Giannis broke it in 2023. Now, Khris Middleton has edged him out too, with 712 games. Bridgemanโs No. 2 jersey was retired by the Bucks in 1988โa well-deserved honor if you ask me.
So, what do you think? Is Bridgeman’s investment a slam dunk or a risky play? Let me know!
