[jetpilot]

Former Louisville and NBA great Junior Bridgeman has died. He was 71 years years old and still lived in Louisville. According to Wikipedia, despite never making more than $350k a year in the NBA, he was a very successful businessman and had a net worth of $1.4 billion. Owned over 100 Wendy's and Chilis restaurants among other businesses. Very interesting guy. RIP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Bridgeman

[jetpilot]

Also part owner of Valhalla and Milwaukee Bucks.

https://apnews.com/article/junior-bridge...cdde031633

[Old School Hound]

Former Louisville and NBA great Junior Bridgeman has died. He was 71 years years old and still lived in Louisville. According to Wikipedia, despite never making more than $350k a year in the NBA, he was a very successful businessman and had a net worth of $1.4 billion. Owned over 100 Wendy's and Chilis restaurants among other businesses. Very interesting guy. RIP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Bridgeman

WOW!!!  A professional athlete who was actually wise with his money. Impressive.  RIP.

[Cactus Jack]

Former Louisville and NBA great Junior Bridgeman has died. He was 71 years years old and still lived in Louisville. According to Wikipedia, despite never making more than $350k a year in the NBA, he was a very successful businessman and had a net worth of $1.4 billion. Owned over 100 Wendy's and Chilis restaurants among other businesses. Very interesting guy. RIP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Bridgeman

Know that his career earnings seem low now, but $350K in 1975 would be the equivalent of being paid over $2 million now. Assuming he didn't start out at $350K in his rookie season and it would take real work to turn $10 or $25 million into a billion-- was just trying to put that in perspective of today's money.

He was the NBA Player's Association President for a few years as well. Impressed that in 2016 Forbes had him ranked as the 4th wealthiest retired athlete behind Jordan, David Beckham, and Arnold Palmer.

WOW!!!  A professional athlete who was actually wise with his money. Impressive.  RIP.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4062...00m-empire

...and the lady thought he was working at one of the many Wendy's he owned.

"What I'm scared and concerned about now," the 70-year-old said on a recent afternoon from Louisville, Kentucky, where he has lived since the late 1980s, "is you start to get that feeling that I've got so much money that I can't really blow it all... "That's the first step," Bridgeman told ESPN, "in blowing it all."

Really good quote.

[Van Hagar]

I absolutely loved Louisville basketball in the Denny Crum era, Darrell Griffith was my all-time favorite player, but I loved Bridgeman as well, along with the McCray brothers, Pervis Ellison, Poncho Wright, the list just goes on. Under Crum, U of L basketball was just cooler than UK.

[Old School Hound]

I absolutely loved Louisville basketball in the Denny Crum era, Darrell Griffith was my all-time favorite player, but I loved Bridgeman as well, along with the McCray brothers, Pervis Ellison, Poncho Wright, the list just goes on. Under Crum, U of L basketball was just cooler than UK.

When Griffith was there , weren't they the "Doctors of Dunk, " or am I thinking of Old School's '80's team over here at the community center gym in Corbin?

[Van Hagar]

Griffith was Dr. Dunkenstein, and the whole group was the Doctors of Dunk. Griffith was the star of their 1980 national championship team, he as in the NBA with Utah by 1983 when the Doctors of Dunk met Clyde Drexler and Phi Slamma Jamma in the national semis. Houston won what everyone thought was basically the national championship game. Then NC State stunned the world. And by the way, NC State beat Georgia in the other semi, and Georgia had Dominique Wilkins, who I think was the greatest dunker I’ve ever seen. So all those great athletes, and NC State wins it. Still crazy after all these years.

[jetpilot]

I absolutely loved Louisville basketball in the Denny Crum era, Darrell Griffith was my all-time favorite player, but I loved Bridgeman as well, along with the McCray brothers, Pervis Ellison, Poncho Wright, the list just goes on. Under Crum, U of L basketball was just cooler than UK.

100% same! Loved those teams and those guys. Actually got to watch Pikeville lose to Male with Darrell Griffith and Bobby Turner in the Sweet 16 in Freedom Hall when I was a kid. Louisville had several great teams in the Crum era that were so much fun to watch.