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'''Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman''' is a retired [[NBA]] player.  Originally drafted in 1975 by the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] with the #8 overall pick, he would be traded before the season as part of a blockbuster deal which saw [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]] go from the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] to the Lakers.

'''Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman''' (September 17, 1953 – March 11, 2025) was a retired [[NBA]] player.  Originally drafted in 1975 by the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] with the #8 overall pick, he would be traded before the season as part of a blockbuster deal which saw [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]] go from the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] to the Lakers.

Bridgeman would have a fairly long career (12 years) as a key bench player (though before the advent of the Sixth Man Award; it is speculated that he would have won it multiple times) with the Bucks (on two stints; they ultimately retired his #2) as well as the [[Los Angeles Clippers]].  He also served as President of the NBA Players Association from 1985-1988.

Bridgeman would have a fairly long career (12 years) as a key bench player (though before the advent of the Sixth Man Award; it is speculated that he would have won it multiple times) with the Bucks (on two stints; they ultimately retired his #2) as well as the [[Los Angeles Clippers]].  He also served as President of the NBA Players Association from 1985-1988.

But as he played during a time when NBA salaries were nowhere near modern ones (he never made more than $350,000 in a season), during the off-season he would work for, and ultimately learn, the ins-and-outs of the restaurant industry.  Ultimately, he owned over 100 Wendy's and Chili's franchise locations, before selling out to purchase a Coca-Cola bottling operation, both in Louisville, Kentucky (where he went to college).  Later he purchased the popular Black magazines ''Ebony'' and ''Jet'' out of bankruptcy.  Bridgeman's estimated net worth is in excess of $600 million, which ranks him among the wealthiest former athletes in the world.

But as he played during a time when NBA salaries were nowhere near modern ones (he never made more than $350,000 in a season), during the off-season he would work for, and ultimately learn, the ins-and-outs of the restaurant industry.  Ultimately, he owned over 100 Wendy's and Chili's franchise locations, before selling out to purchase a Coca-Cola bottling operation, both in Louisville, Kentucky (where he went to college).  Later he purchased the popular Black magazines ''Ebony'' and ''Jet'' out of bankruptcy, and a 10% interest in the Bucks franchise which drafted him.  At this death, Bridgeman's estimated net worth was in excess of $1.4 billion, which ranks him among the wealthiest former athletes in the world.

[[Category:Basketball Players|Bridgeman, Junior]]

[[Category:Basketball Players|Bridgeman, Junior]]

[[Category:Business People|Bridgeman, Junior]]

[[Category:Business People|Bridgeman, Junior]]