LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Junior Bridgeman. Many of you might be wondering how Bridgeman belongs on the list with these all-time greats. While he is no match as far as basketball skills go, the former Bucks star is neck and neck with these legends in terms of net worth, estimated at over $600 million, thanks to his incredible business acumen. He recently made a historic move by purchasing a 10% stake in the Milwaukee franchise at a $4 billion valuation, becoming an NBA team owner. Something even LeBron dreams of doing one day. But that might have to be put on hold.

Sure enough, the Lakers superstar is left in awe of what Junior has managed to accomplish off the hardwood. Taking focus off last night’s humiliating loss against the Sixers, a reporter asked LBJ the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Bridgeman.

He responded, “That he didn’t waste his time just thinking about the game of basketball. You know he used the game of basketball to get to better places.”

Well, Junior made only $2.95 million in career earnings as a player. Obviously, the contracts were not as lucrative back then. Following his retirement in the late 80s, he built a massive fast-food empire, with over 450 restaurants across the nation. In fact, there was an incident when Bridgeman was mistaken for a Wendy’s employee after he served a woman in the South Milwaukee restaurant. And he didn’t realize it until the woman talked about it on a radio show later that week,

“These NBA basketball players make all this money and, when their career is over, they still have to work at Wendy’s.” Turns out, Junior was actually the owner of that restaurant.

Apart from the fast-food business, he also became a Coca-Cola bottle investor and even purchased Ebony and Jet magazines. No wonder LeBron could not stop praising him. “He’s always had a business mindset and obviously you know he loved the game because he got to this point. But then he used all the resources, the outlets, the connections that he met along the way and used it to his advantage and he’s built an unbelievable portfolio.”

But a dream that Bridgeman has already realized might be slipping away from the grasp of LBJ because of Adam Silver.

Adam Silver’s European Invasion plan could end LeBron James’ Las Vegas dream

“It’s the best fanbase in the world and I would love to bring a team here at some point. That’ll be amazing. I want a team here, Adam. Thank you.” LeBron has made it clear time and again that he wants to own an NBA franchise in Sin City. It’s part of his retirement plan and he even has the financial backing of the Red Bull brand owners. And Adam Silver stated last year that the expansion plan might be in motion soon.

“We’re not quite done with our media deals yet. But once we are, we will turn to consideration around expansion.” Obviously, the statement would have raised LeBron’s hopes.

However, his Vegas dream might be under threat because Silver revealed during the recent Paris Games that the league’s focus is on expanding in Europe. “We are looking very closely to see if there’s an opportunity to professionalize the game to another level here, to create a larger commercial opportunity,” the Commissioner remarked.

Reports suggest that Silver’s vision is to start a standalone league in Europe. But that could put the Vegas plan on hold. While the European Invasion move is not concrete as Silver is still in discussion with FIBA and other authorities, it definitely puts LeBron’s retirement plan under threat. Hopefully, he will get his own NBA team one day and join the ranks of rare player-turned-owners like MJ and Bridgeman.