Former professional basketball player Shawn Paul Bradley, German-American, was a center for the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks (NBA) (NBA) of the National Basketball Association.
Before retiring in 2005, Bradley spent nine of his 12 NBA seasons with the Mavericks. With 1,250 blocked shots, the 7-foot center is still second all-time in the league behind Dirk Nowitzki (1,281). (1,281).
While most fans will remember the big man from his Dallas Mavericks days, he no longer slams dunks and swatters in the front row.
Instead, he lives with quadriplegia due to a bicycle accident in 2021.
What happened to Shawn Bradley?
The news that former maverick Shawn Bradley was disabled following a devastating bicycle accident in January 2021 prompted a flood of sympathy and prayer.
Bradley issued a statement through the Mavericks about his sad bicycle accident, which occurred just a block from his home in St. George, Utah, when a car hit him from behind.
Shawn Paul Bradley, a German-American former professional basketball player
The statement read: “The accident resulted in catastrophic spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed.” Bradley was hospitalized and has been rehabilitating for the past eight weeks after undergoing neck fusion surgery.
The former center has offered a few hints about his new life. His size, the attribute that earned him millions of dollars, became a liability, as detailed in a January 2022 Sports Illustrated feature.
Likewise, Bradley needed a custom-made wheelchair that “cost more than most cars”. Simple actions like turning in bed or taking a shower have become crucial.
How did it happen to the paralyzed former basketball player?
Bradley, a former basketball player, was paralyzed in his neck after suffering a severe spinal cord injury.
Similar to Shawn Bradley, who told Sports Illustrated about his bicycle accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down, Bradley was the No. 2 draft pick in the 1993 NBA and a 14-year NBA veteran.
Shawn Bradley was crippled in a tragic bicycle accident in January 2021.
Bradley claimed he spent three weeks in intensive care before being transferred to an inpatient neurological rehab ward, but the hospital’s medical staff faced a particular challenge due to Bradley’s 7ft 6in height.
Bradley now uses a 500-pound wheelchair that took three months to develop, which costs more than most cars and weighs 500 pounds.
His family rides in a brand new $120,000 van with a lift that allows him to get into the vehicle. His family consists of his wife Carrie and their three children.
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Bradley said in a 2022 interview with Sports Illustrated that he and his family planned to move to a more wheelchair-accessible home in Dallas, Texas while he continues his recovery.
Bradley saw his size as a “detriment” to his recovery as quadriplegia has no known medical precedent at his size.
He also craved the periods after difficult basketball practice sessions when he felt drained. According to Sportcasting, it makes sense that he treats his wife and children differently now.
Additionally, Philadelphia picked Bradley by the second overall pick in 1993. His career stats were stellar, and by the end of the 1997-98 Mavericks season he was recording a triple-double with 22 points, 22 rebounds and 13 blocked shots.
By this time, Bradley had made his name as a key component of Don Nelson’s strategy to revive the Mavericks.