I was always drawn to cheering for Shawn Bradley when he played for the Dallas Mavericks Basketball Team from 1997—2005, more or less! And I am not only cheering him on now but, more importantly, praying for him, as he attempts to recover from being struck from behind by an automobile about two months ago, leaving him still “hospitalized” as of this writing. He is undergoing rehabilitation and learning the possible effects of paraplegia. Doctors have warned him that the fight against his traumatic injuries will probably be the hardest thing he has ever had to do in his life—even harder than injuries, struggles, and problems he ever encountered as an NBA basketball player.
Bradley played college basketball for one season at Brigham Young University and then for two years did missionary work in Australia. He was Philadelphia’s #2 draft pick overall in the 1993 NBA selection process and moved to Dallas as part of a 9-player trade with the New Jersey Nets in 1997, in which the Mavs gave up 5front-line players to get their “big man”—leading scorer, Chris Gatling; Jim Jackson; Sam Cassell; George McCloud; Eric Montross. I remember that even though I was a “die-hard” Mavericks fan, I was not happy to see Gatling and McCloud go, no matter whom we received in return—except maybe “Dr. J” or Wilt Chamberlain!
But from the first game I watched him play, I liked this guy, who was unmercifully criticized for not being a “smash-em up, knock-em down” player. Yes, he was 7’—6” tall and had a nice shot, but he dunked little and could not jump very high, despite still being a formidable shot-blocker/ changer! I always enjoyed watching him warm up and attempt to mimic a “point guard.” He always had a smile upon his face and liked to interact with the entire team. I even saw him one time scrimmage around with a really short “ballguy/floor sweeper.”
Shawn Bradley was a large part of the “Mavs with Dirk” and his first five playoff ventures, but only averaged 6 rebounds, 7 points, and 2 blocks per game. However, he did many of the little things that helped the team to win—and these often went unnoticed! He played 14 NBA seasons, and also was a “movie star,” as he acted alongside Michael Jordan in a 1996 movie, called “Space Jam.”
He retired in 2005 and became a counselor at a private school for at-risk youths, exactly what I expected a man, such as Shawn Bradley, would do!
Donnie Nelson, General Manager of the Mavericks, said, “In his 8-plus seasons in Dallas, Shawn demonstrated all of the qualities you want in a person representing your organization;” Mark Cuban continued with “Shawn has always been incredibly determined and shown a fighting spirit. He will always be a part of our Mavs Family.”
Bradley’s injury happened near to his home in Utah, and he had a “neck fusion” surgery performed soon after to stabilize the traumatic spinal cord injury. HE has already stated that he hopes to promote bicycle riding safety and awareness and to move on and accomplish as much as he can with his life.
Steve Nash played with Shawn Bradley for six years and expressed “heartbreak,” as he received the news and remembered him as a fun-loving guy and wished him to remain positive and continue to fight and to remember he has a lot of support as he improves and tries to get back as much function as he can! “A-men, Shawn!”
Let me close with something that happened when Mr. Bradley was still in the midst of his career. Our family took Vivian’s Father, James Hood, to an appointment at the Tom Landry Center in Baylor Hospital. As we were hurrying to get to the elevator we thought he was on, we missed it and had to take another to the bottom floor, worried all the time about how he would manage with his walker or wheel chair.
When we found him at the main floor, he was “standing” there, waiting impatiently and wondering where we had been. We were worried about him and asked how he had managed to get onto and off of the elevators that always seemed to move too quickly for him to navigate easily. He said, “Well, this big, tall guy, who had to duck to get in and out, made sure the door stayed open for me. I think he was a Dallas basketball player named Bradley.” With a little bit of checking, we found out that Shawn Bradley had been there at the same time as “Papa” Hood and had been seen helping an “older” guy off the elevator!
And that day, I had another reason to especially like SHAWN BRADLEY!
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