Shaq Mourns Death of ‘Dear Friend' That ‘Really Hit Hard'
While appearing on NBA on TNT this week, the basketball star reacted to the death of NBA icon Junior Bridgeman, who died on Tuesday, March 11.
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'This one really hit hard for me,' O'Neal said. 'A lot of people don't know this, but I've patterned my whole business acumen after Junior Bridgeman. They always tell us stories about 75 percent of athletes, zero to five years after they're done playing, go broke.'
'And I never wanted to be that," the former Lakers center continued. "So, I started looking at people. Michael [Jordan], of course, Magic [Johnson]. But I remember one time a Forbes list came out, and I was like, 'I know them all on this list, all the commercials I do,' and I saw his name. I reached out to him, and I started talking.'
'He was somebody that I looked up to," O'Neal added. "I know I get a lot of credit, but if it wasn't for Bridgeman, I wouldn't have known where to start."
Related:
According to ESPN, Bridgeman died of a heart attack on Tuesday at the age of 71.
A billionaire philanthropist and the minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks (his former team), Bridgeman built a fast-food empire following his time in the NBA totaling more than 450 restaurants across the country. Additional business pursuits included becoming a Coca-Cola bottling distributor and purchasing Ebony and Jet magazines.
After purchasing a 10 percent stake in the Bucks in September 2024, Bridgeman's net worth was reportedly over $1.4 billion as of February 2025.
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