Junior Bridgeman, a longtime NBA forward who would eventually go on to become one of the wealthiest ex-athletes in the world, died at 71 on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks announced. According to WLKY, Bridgeman suffered a medical emergency during a speaking engagement in Louisville on Tuesday.
Bridgeman starred at the University of Louisville before getting selected No. 8 overall in the 1975 NBA Draft by the Bucks. He would remain in Milwaukee for nearly a decade, serving a key role on perpetually competitive Bucks teams that were led by Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson. He went on to play for the Clippers briefly before returning to the Bucks and retiring.
Bridgeman was a valuable NBA player, averaging 13.6 points per game for his 12-year career and helping several Milwaukee teams reach the Eastern Conference finals. He is better known, though, for what came after his playing career. Despite never making an All-Star team, Bridgeman died as one of the wealthiest former athletes in the world.
His post-career success began with investments in Milwaukee-area Wendy’s restaurants. Over time, he continued to purchase more and more franchises. He added a number of Chili’s locations to his portfolio, and eventually diversified into other areas, including Coca-Cola bottling and even media, as he purchased Jet and Ebony magazines in 2020. In 2024, Bridgeman bought a 10% stake in his former team, the Bucks.
In February, Forbes reported that Bridgeman’s net worth had surpassed $1.4 billion. While there is no firm way to accurately assess player wealth, this figure would put him in the running for highest net worth among players not named Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Magic Johnson, all of whom used their success on the court to build sprawling financial portfolios. Bridgeman did not achieve the same success as they did on the court, but still managed to compete with them off of it.
The NBA and NBPA (of which he was a former president) took notice, frequently tapping Bridgeman to speak to younger players about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. He dies having spent the final several decades of his life providing the best possible example to scores of NBA players of how to turn their athletic gifts into generational wealth.
“I am devastated to learn of the sudden passing of Junior Bridgeman,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “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. 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.”
Tuesday represented an all-too familiar set of circumstances for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They entered their battle with the Brooklyn Nets missing several key contributors: Donovan Mitchell, De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome. They struggled through the first three quarters, falling behind by as many as 18 points. And then, in the fourth quarter, they exploded to swipe the game, 109-104, right out from under Brooklyn’s noses.
It was a fitting way for the Cavaliers to match their season-opening mark of 15 consecutive victories. They may not have Boston’s championship pedigree or Oklahoma City’s historic wire-to-wire statistical dominance, but when it matters most, no matter who is on the floor, they find a way to win. Entering Tuesday’s action, Cleveland led the NBA with an astonishing +38.6 clutch net rating. They are essentially playing out the end of a sports movie every night. Unsurprisingly, that has taken them within striking range of one of the NBA’s most sacred numbers.
Only two teams have ever won 70 games in a season. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 72 en route to a championship. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors hold the regular-season record with 73, but lost the NBA Finals to these same Cavaliers. The widespread presumption has been that no team would ever win 70 games again. Too much needs to go right for it to happen.
Cavaliers become first NBA team to clinch playoff spot after tying Heat 3-pointer wiped away in wild finish Sam Quinn Cavaliers become first NBA team to clinch playoff spot after tying Heat 3-pointer wiped away in wild finish The Bulls, obviously, were led by arguably the greatest player of all time in Michael Jordan. They kept Scottie Pippen despite two turbulent, mostly Jordan-less seasons beforehand, and managed to acquire Dennis Rodman in the offseason for pennies on the dollar. But they also played in an NBA that was somewhat watered down due to expansion. The Raptors and Grizzlies began play in 1995, and the Hornets, Heat, Timberwolves and Magic had all joined within the seven previous years. The talent pool hadn’t quite caught up to that expansion yet, so teams around the league were stretched thin. That left room for a super team like the Bulls to run roughshod over the competition.
The Warriors had a different set of advantages. They were by far the NBA’s best shooting team at a point in history in which the value of 3-pointers was only just beginning to be understood. They took twice as many 3s as the last-place Milwaukee Bucks, for instance. That doesn’t happen anymore. Leading the NBA in both shooting volume and percentage made a team basically unstoppable. Doing so when your best players never miss games helps as well. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green combined to miss just six all season. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs also won 67 games.
Why does this matter? Because it ensured that the Warriors needed to keep winning all season. The Spurs were a genuine threat to steal the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for most of the season, so Golden State couldn’t load manage much down the stretch.
The stars just don’t really align like that anymore. Perfect health. Limited load management. Ideal opponent circumstances. The maximization of market inefficiencies. This is typically what it takes to win 70. There’s a reason it’s only happened twice.
And yet, here we sit. On March 11, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 55-10. They have won 15 games in a row, and need to win 15 of their remaining 17 games to reach 70 for the season. The stars might not have aligned quite as well for Cleveland as they did for Chicago or Golden State, but they are within realistic striking distance of 70 if they choose to pursue it.
The Cavs have a reason to pursue 70 wins That choice is relevant here, and fortunately for anyone rooting for history, the Cavaliers, like the Warriors before them, have a reason to keep winning. While they’ve more or less locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, they only lead the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the NBA by two games. They split their head-to-head matchups, and Cleveland should hold the conference record advantage, but that’s still a pretty meager lead. As long as Cleveland wants to maintain home-court advantage in a possible Finals matchup against the Thunder, winning remains a priority.
The schedule is reasonably favorable to the Cavs down the stretch as well. They’ll have a chance to extend their winning streak to 16 against the Grizzlies on Friday, and Jaren Jackson Jr. remains sidelined with an ankle injury. After that, they don’t play another team currently seeded in the top five in either conference for the rest of the month. They have multiple games left against competitive teams like the Knicks, Pacers and Clippers, but none against true heavy hitters like the Thunder, Celtics or Nuggets. Assuming health, they will likely be favored in every game they play the rest of the season.
Health is no given. Cleveland was obviously without three core players on Tuesday. Notably, Jerome was listed out with a “rest” designation, suggesting that the Cavaliers plan to be cautious down the stretch. But no core member of the rotation is dealing with an injury that is expected to keep them sidelined for a significant stretch. Mitchell is dealing with left groin soreness. Hunter had an illness. Everyone figures to at least be in the mix moving forward even if they are missing games occasionally.
With LeBron James leading the way, Cleveland toppled the last team to win 70 in a regular season back in the 2016 Finals. Therefore, the organization is likely aware of the toll that pursuit put on the Warriors and might prefer to avoid taxing its players similarly. If Cleveland gets to the final week or so of the season with 12 or fewer losses, it might come down to how badly their opponents need wins. Two of their final three games come against the Pacers, who are currently in a three-way tie for the No. 4 seed in the East. If that remains the case, the Pacers will obviously plan to go all-out in those matchups. The other game in that stretch comes against a Knicks team that currently has a five-game cushion for the No. 3 seed in either direction. If Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau were ever to rest his best players, that would be the time.
The odds of going 15-2 across any stretch on an NBA schedule are slim, but the odds of starting a season 55-10 are far slimmer. The hardest part is done. Cleveland has twice won 15 games in a row. It’s unlikely, but finishing 15-2 is attainable and doing so comes with the carrot of joining one of the most exclusive clubs in NBA history.
You still shouldn’t bet on the Cavaliers to reach 70 wins, but for the first time, it at least looks somewhat plausible.
It seems as though every time the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers meet, something overly dramatic occurs. Whether it’s a feud over the rights to a game ball or an NBA Cup upset, these teams have stumbled into one of the more fun rivalries in basketball. Tuesday was yet another stunner. But this time, it was purely a basketball matter.
With 6.1 seconds to go and the Bucks leading 112-110, Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard was fouled with a chance to tie the game. He split his free throws, though, putting Milwaukee in the driver’s seat up 112-111. Damian Lillard then calmly sank two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining to extend the lead to three, meaning Milwaukee’s worst-case scenario, barring something catastrophic, was overtime.
And then something catastrophic happened.
With 3.2 seconds left, Indiana lined up for an unorthodox inbounds play. All four possible pass recipients lined up in the backcourt, with three in a parallel line. The entire design, which Indiana first used in an Eastern Conference finals game against Boston a year ago, was meant to generate enough confusion to free Tyrese Haliburton on the move. That’s exactly what happened.
Haliburton caught the inbound pass and chucked up a 3-pointer as a desperate Giannis Antetokounmpo scampered into him and committed a foul. Haliburton hit the 3 and sank the free throw to give the Pacers an improbable four-point play and a one-point lead. Antetokounmpo missed a triple on the other end. Game over.
The shot was incredible in a vacuum, but it also carried significant playoff implications. Indiana and Milwaukee are now tied with identical 36-28 records. The Detroit Pistons have played two more games than both and split them, putting them at 37-29 and all three teams effectively tied for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. It is entirely possible that this shot winds up swinging home-court advantage in a first-round series between the Pacers and Bucks, or changing who winds up facing who when the first round arrives.
Regardless of how the standings look in a month, this was one of the craziest shots of the 2024-25 season. Game-winning four-point plays are extremely rare. Defenses know that the single most important thing in defending an end-of-game situation while leading by three is not to foul. But Indiana was able to scheme their way to the line, and Haliburton’s incredible shot-making was enough to steal the game.
The 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly making a change on Patrick Mahomes’ blindside, as Wanya Morris will start in the place of rookie Kingsley Suamataia at left tackle when the Chiefs take on the Atlanta Falcons Sunday night, per NFL Media.
Suamataia was selected by the Chiefs with the No. 63 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and won the left tackle job in camp. The BYU product allowed just two sacks on 705 career pass-blocking snaps in college, but was pulled from the Chiefs’ Week 2 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals after allowing two sacks to defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said this week that both Morris and Suamataia would play vs. Atlanta, and that he hadn’t given up on the rookie.
“We haven’t lost confidence in him,” Reid told reporters. “He was going against a good player, and he’s got to learn from it.”
As for Morris, the former Oklahoma Sooner was selected by Kansas City in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He started in four of 14 games played for the eventual Super Bowl champions last year, and actually caught a touchdown last week vs. Cincinnati off a trick play. He will be charged with containing the experienced Matt Judon on Sunday evening.
The Baltimore Ravens will try to pick up their first win of the season when they face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday during the Week 3 NFL schedule. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has already accounted for nearly 700 total yards, but it was not enough to beat the Chiefs or Raiders. Jackson’s passing yards total is 217.5 in the Week 3 NFL player props, while his rushing yards over/under is 53.5. That game is expected to be among the highest scoring games of the week with an over-under of 47.5, as Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb are a dangerous duo.
Other games with high totals include Saints vs. Eagles (49.5), Cardinals vs. Lions (51.5), and Falcons vs. Chiefs (46.5). Those games each present opportunities to place Week 3 NFL prop bets on star players, but which ones have the most value for NFL props? Before you lock in any Week 3 NFL prop picks or NFL bets on sites like PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy, Sleeper Fantasy, and DraftKings Pick6, you need to check out the top NFL picks and predictions from SportsLine NFL props expert Alex Selesnick.
Selesnick (aka PropStarz) specializes in NFL, MLB and NBA prop betting, where he implements a combination of research, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. The expert has been crushing his picks in all sports and entered the 2024 NFL season on a 461-350 streak, returning 62.6 units. The expert has also gone 206-142 on MLB prop plays for SportsLine this season and was 338-246 on NBA props last season.
Now, after combing through the hundreds of available Week 3 NFL prop bets, PropStarz has found the value picks he loves. He’s only sharing them at SportsLine.
Top 2024 Week 3 NFL prop picks One play PropStarz loves for his NFL Week 3 props is Saints wide receiver Chris Olave over 4.5 receptions against the Eagles. While Olave is off to a slow start with just six receptions through his first two games, there are multiple signs pointing to a turnaround on Sunday. The third-year wideout went over this number in 11 of his 16 games last season, and he remains one of the most heavily involved players in the offense.
He was also not done any favors by the game flow of the first two contests, as New Orleans raced out to big leads and did not need to throw many passes in the second half. The Saints should be in for a more competitive contest on Sunday, which will give Olave more opportunities to catch passes. Philadelphia has allowed the third-most receiving yards to opposing wide receivers, so PropStarz has several reasons to take the Over in this prop. You can see all of PropStarz’s Week 3 NFL prop bets at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 NFL Week 3 prop bets and predictions PropStarz has locked in several other confident Week 3 NFL prop picks. They include a receiver with a favorable matchup and should cruise past his yardage totals. You can only see these NFL prop picks over at SportsLine.
The NFL loaded up on non-conference matchups on Sunday, as nine of the 13 games feature AFC teams versus NFC teams. Malik Willis could start for his former team, as the Packers are 3-point road underdogs against Tennessee in the latest Week 3 NFL odds. The late afternoon slate has quarterback Skylar Thompson filling in for Tua Tagovailoa (concussion), with Miami as a 4.5-point road underdog in the NFL Vegas odds against Seattle. On Sunday Night Football, the Chiefs are 3-point road favorites in the NFL betting lines as Patrick Mahomes will make his first pro start in Atlanta.
With these interconference battles being unfamiliar NFL matchups, you could certainly utilize NFL betting advice with NFL office pool picks and NFL confidence pool picks. Before you make your NFL predictions, you need to see the Week 3 NFL football pool picks from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season on an incredible 187-130 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It is also on a 41-22 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of last season.
The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94% of CBS Sports Football Pick’em players four times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Get football picks for every game from a proven NFL model In Week 3, SportsLine’s advanced computer model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is predicting the Seattle Seahawks (-4.5, 41.5) to win comfortably at home against the Miami Dolphins. Seattle is undefeated, while Miami has recently struggled against winning teams. Over their last 12 games versus teams with above .500 records, the Dolphins are just 3-9 straight-up. Many of those came with Tagovailoa under center, and the dropoff to Thompson has major ramifications on Miami’s best player in Tyreek Hill.
The speedy wideout averages 107 receiving ypg with Tagovailoa as starting QB in Miami, compared to 74.2 ypg when he doesn’t start. Additionally, Hill has zero receiving touchdowns in the five games in which Tagovailoa hasn’t started since he joined the Dolphins. With Hill less of a threat, Seattle can focus its attention on Miami’s running game, which is already limited with Raheem Mostert banged up. Add in the huge home-field advantage that the Seahawks have with Miami flying cross-country, and Seattle is forecasted to win in nearly 70% of simulations. See all of SportsLine’s Week 3 NFL predictions here.
How to make Week 3 NFL office pool picks The model also made the call on every other Week 3 NFL game and has strong picks for potentially close NFL matchups like Cowboys vs. Ravens, Steelers vs. Chargers and Saints vs. Eagles. It’s also calling for an upset you won’t want to miss. You can only see all of the model’s NFL pool picks here.
