Shaq Mourns Loss Of Friend He Says Changed His Life

Shaquille O’Neal lost one of her dearest friends and most important mentors on March 11. Junior Bridgeman died at 71 years old after suffering from a heart attack. Shaq reacted to his friend’s death on NBA on TNT.

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He said, “This one really hit hard for me. 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.”

Shaq added that he didn’t want to end up broke. So, Shaq looked to mentors like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to help guide him. “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.”

Shaq said, “I know I get a lot of credit, but if it wasn’t for Bridgeman, I wouldn’t have known where to start.”

Many others shared in Shaq’s grief, including NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who shared a statement with ESPN.

“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,” Silver said. “Junior was the ultimate entrepreneur who built on his impactful 12-year NBA playing career by becoming a highly respected and successful business leader. He served as a mentor to generations of NBA players and athletes across sports who were eager to learn from him about what it takes to thrive in the business world. Junior was a dedicated member of the NBA family for 50 years — most recently as a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, an investor in NBA Africa and as a player who set the standard for representing the league and our game with class and dignity.”

He concluded, “We express our heartfelt condolences to Junior’s wife, Doris, their children, Eden, Justin and Ryan, the Bucks organization, and his many friends and admirers in the basketball community.”

This story’s featured image is by Bobby Bank/GC Images.