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Junior Bridgeman becomes minority owner of Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks announced on Thursday that former Bucks player Junior Bridgeman has become a minority owner of the team.
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks announced on Thursday, Sept. 26, that former Bucks player Junior Bridgeman has become a minority owner of the team. He played in 711 games with Milwaukee.
"It is a momentous occasion for our organization and the city of Milwaukee to welcome Junior Bridgeman to the Bucks’ ownership group," said Bucks co-owners Wes Edens, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Jamie Dinan and Mike Fascitelli.
Bridgeman played for the bucks from 1975 to 1984 and then 1986-87.
Bridgeman's No. 2 jersey was retired by the Bucks in 1988. It currently hangs in the rafters of Fiserv Forum. Bridgeman helped the Bucks reach the postseason in eight of his 10 seasons with the franchise and ranks among the team’s all-time leaders in games (3rd, 711), field goals made (7th, 4,142), points (9th, 9,892) and minutes (10th, 18,054).
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After Bridgeman retired from the NBA, he began investing in restaurants and eventually became the owner and CEO of Bridgeman Foods, which operated more than 450 Wendy’s and Chili’s restaurants in 20 states until 2016.
"All those ups and downs become a part of you," Bridgeman said. "When this opportunity presented itself, it just felt like a natural thing for me to get a chance to be part not just in the heart – but physically – of the organization going forward."
In 2017, Bridgeman Foods acquired Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company, LLC, making Bridgeman an independent bottler for Coca-Cola.
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Bucks make ownership announcement
The Milwaukee Bucks made a major ownership announcement during a news conference on Thursday, Sept. 26.
"Sometimes you just have to go with how life takes things and I think the timing just happened to me at this point in time in my life and in history," Bridgeman said.
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Bridgeman hopes to inspire current NBA players for life after basketball.
"Nobody wants to see guys not be successful or as successful as they could be and maybe one day they’ll be sitting up here, not being 10%, but buying the whole franchise," he said. "You never know."