I am finally down to the top-five former Jayhawks who had the best NBA career. This player easily deserves recognition at the No. 5 spot, one of the great rebounders in not only KU history, but also NBA annals. Bill Bridges was a true warrior who made a huge impact on the game.
No. 5 Bill Bridges
A rugged, relentless rebounder and double-double machine, this undersized 6-6 power forward was all passion and heart when it came to crashing the glass. Bill Bridges, who played for the love of the game, had a very memorable 13-year NBA career from 1963-75 for the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Amazingly, Bridges ranks with Wilt Chamberlain as the the only former Jayhawks to average a career double-double in the NBA. Bridges accomplished this rare feat with 11.9 points (11,012) and 11.9 rebounds (11,054) per game. Bridges, who also averaged 2.8 assists, made three All-Star appearances in 1967 and ‘68 with St. Louis, and in 1970 with Atlanta, highlighted with a 15-point, seven-rebound performance in 21 minutes during the 1968 game.
A third-round draft pick (No. 32 overall) by the Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards), Bridges ranks No. 27 in NBA history in career rebounds and No. 17 in career rebound average, while listed No. 25 in career playoff rebounds with 1,305 boards in 113 games. He finished in the top-10 in rebounding during seven seasons, while ranking in the top-10 in minutes during three campaigns (1966-67, 1967-68, 1969-70).
Bridges, who is second behind Chamberlain among former Jayhawks in all-time NBA rebounding and sixth in career scoring, was a consistent player who averaged a double-double for nine-straight seasons from 1964 to 1973. His best year statistically came in 1966-67, when Bridges averaged career highs in points (17.4 ppg) and rebounds (15.1).
Bridges, who made the All-NBA Defensive Second Team in 1968-69 and 1969-70, was also a workhorse who played in at least 78 games for 10-straight seasons from 1963-73. Four times, he played in all 82 games.
Wait, there’s more. Bridges played over 40 minutes per game in five different playoffs, where he shined in the postseason. He averaged 20.3 points and 14.9 rebounds in the playoffs in 1966, 15.7 points and 18.8 rebounds in 1967, and 9.8 points and a whopping 20.8 rebounds in 1971.
His numbers decreased the last two seasons of his career, and Bridges was waived by Los Angeles during his last campaign on Dec. 6, 1974 before Golden State signed him on March 1, 1975 for the stretch run. Bridges played 15 games for the Warriors during the regular season and 14 contests in the playoffs while winning his first NBA championship, a most fitting end to a remarkable and magical career.
Bridges played in 926 games while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 69.3 percent at the free throw line in 33.3 minutes per contest.
After his KU career ended in 1961, Bridges began his professional career with the Kansas City Steers in the American Basketball League (ABL). He played 1 1/2 seasons with the Steers before the league folded. However, Bridges was a star who won a championship and led the ABL in rebounding both seasons while pacing the league in scoring (29.2 ppg) during his second year. He established the ABL single-game scoring record with 55 points on Dec. 9, 1962.
Kansas City native and future Jayhawk standout Ron Franz (1964-67) used to follow those Steers’ games closely and viewed Bridges as a hero.
“He was pretty unique in the fact for his size, he was probably one of the toughest rebounders,” Franz once told me. “He played in the NBA for quite a few years. I guess if anybody that I would recall or remember or think about in that particular time frame, it probably would have been him because I did go to the old Kansas City Steers’ game. He was an interesting player.”
A Hobbs, New Mexico, native, Bridges first made his mark at Kansas, where he was a three-time All-Conference pick and an All-American his senior season in 1961 after averaging 16.1 points and 14.1 rebounds (third-best single-season average in school history). He became the first player in a Big Six-Seven-Eight career to score more than 1,000 points (1,028) and grab more than 1,000 rebounds (1,081) in just 78 games, while his 580 boards in conference games is still a record.
Moreover, Bridges holds the Kansas record for most rebounds in a three-year career. Bridges, who grabbed 30 rebounds versus Northwestern on Dec. 3, 1960 (third best at KU for single game and most by a senior), averaged a double-double every season at KU and left his mark with a 13.2 scoring average and a 13.9 rebound average (No. 2 in school annals behind Chamberlain).
Forty-three years after he ended his tremendous collegiate career, Bridges’ No. 32 jersey was retired in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 9, 2004.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported on that historic event.
“I feel I belong here,” Bridges told the crowd during his speech. “It’s always been a privilege to be a Jayhawk. People come up to me and Jayhawks have great name value. To have my jersey retired in this place, it’s an honor.”
He died on Sept. 25, 2015 in Santa Monica, California, at age 76 after a prolonged battle with cancer. A moment of silence was given to him during Late Night in Allen Fieldhouse a few weeks later on Oct. 9.
Bridges always took great pride in rebounding.
"I maintain there's nothing you can do to create that kind of player. It's an art form," Bridges told the Journal-World in 2004. "You learn to anticipate situations and make it happen. You've got to want it."
Ted Owens, who was an assistant under Dick Harp when Bridges played at KU, said the former Jayhawk All-American was an exceptional rebounder.
“He was truly one of our greatest players. He was the finest rebounder for his size of anybody I’ve ever seen,” Owens told the Journal World on Oct. 8, 2015. “He taught me a lot about rebounding. He had an incredible career in the NBA, winning the championship with Rick Barry and that bunch.”
Former KU standout Al Donaghue also had great respect and praise for Bridges. The two were teammates for two seasons (1958-60) as KU won the conference championship in 1960 with Bridges and Wayne Hightower leading the attack.
“Bridges was probably the most intense rebounder I’ve ever met in my entire life,” the late Donaghue once told me. “He was just animal. I use that as a lovable form. He was just great on the court as an intense rebounder.”
Donaghue had the great fortune to also team with Chamberlain during the 1957-58 season.
“It was interesting to play with them,” Donaghue said about Wilt and Bridges. “It was a real treat to battle against them in practice. They made you better.”
Bridges truly blossomed under Harp after arriving at KU as a raw prospect. The late Al Correll, who teamed with Bridges, spoke about the New Mexico native in Max Falkenstien and Doug Vance’s 1996 book, “Max and the Jayhawks: 50 years on and off the air with KU Sports.”
“Bill is probably the strongest non-athletic person I’ve ever known,” Correll said. “He had the biggest hands I’ve ever seen. He had no other thought on the floor but go get the ball. He knocked me out about three times with his elbows. He was so brutal under the basket. People want to talk about coach Harp and his coaching ability ... let me tell you ... Bill Bridges couldn’t have made my high school team. Coach Harp made Bill Bridges. There is no question in my mind. From what he learned from coach Harp, Bill was able to play at the pro level for a very long time. He worked with him every day on basic fundamentals. What a strong man Bill Bridges was. What a fighter. I doubt if you could find anyone that worked harder.”
Bridges was so strong he helped shatter a backboard in the NBA playing for the Hawks. In Terry Pluto’s 1992 book, “Tall Tales,” former player Rudy LaRusso related this funny story from official Richie Powers.
“Bill Bridges drove to the basket on Gus Johnson of Baltimore,” LaRusso said. “Bridges went up for the dunk, slammed it through and Johnson came down on Bridges’ back. The force of those two guys hitting the backboard caused the whole thing to shatter. Now, there’s glass everywhere, absolute chaos. Then Kerner (Ben, flamboyant Hawks’ owner) came running out of the stands screaming, ‘It’s a three-point play. Richie, he got fouled, it’s a three-point play.’”
Bridges, who certainly made a lot of great plays during his career, will best be remembered by his relentless work ethic, rebounding, and the grace he carried himself.
He was, quite simply, a gentle person off the hardwood who touched countless lives.
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