Former Bucks player and current owner Junior Bridgeman dies at age 71

Junior Bridgeman (YouTube)

According to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday, former Milwaukee Bucks small forward Junior Bridgeman of East Chicago, Indiana passed away on Tuesday at the age of 71. In addition to playing for the Bucks, Bridgeman was a minority owner for the Bucks over the last year.

Bridgeman played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was with the Bucks for nine straight years from 1975 to 1984, and again for one season in 1986-87. Bridgeman also played two seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers from 1984 to 1986.

In 849 games, Bridgeman averaged 13.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, and 2.4 assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of .475 and a free throw percentage of .846.

Bridgeman is one of nine Bucks players to have his number retired. His number two was retired on January 17, 1988. Other Bucks to have their numbers retired are triple-double specialist Oscar Robertson of Charlotte, Tennessee (number 1), Sidney Moncrief of Little Rock, Arkansas (number four), Marques Johnson of Natchitoches, Louisiana (number eight), Bob Dandridge of Richmond, Virginia (number 10), Jon McGlocklin of Franklin, Indiana (number 14), Bob Lanier of Buffalo, New York (number 16),  Brian Winters of Rockaway, New York (number 32), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of New York City, New York (number 33).

At the collegiate level, Bridgeman played at the University of Louisville. He was then drafted in the first round, eighth overall, in the 1975 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. However, he never played for the Lakers, as he was traded to the Bucks in one of the biggest trades in Bucks history–the deal that saw Abdul-Jabbar going to Los Angeles. Bridgeman was one of two players to have his retired to be traded to Milwaukee in the deal. The other was Winters.

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