'You Can Find Triumph in Tragedy': Mavs Ex Shawn Bradley Speaks on Life-Changing Injury

The former Dallas Mavericks big man isn't letting his unfortunate situation keep him down.

Dalton Trigg | Sep 1, 2022

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In life, when tragedy strikes, sometimes the pressure can be too much for an individual to overcome. In the case of former Dallas Mavericks big man Shawn Bradley, though, he's proved to be one of the strongest and resilient people we've ever seen.

In January 2021, Bradley was in a bike accident near his Utah home, where a vehicle hit him from behind. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury that ultimately left him paralyzed, despite many rehab attempts. Although the situation seems impossible, Bradley, like many times throughout his playing career, isn't afraid of taking on a challenge.

"You can find triumph in tragedy. It's important to realize that even though you go through hard things in life, you can be positive through them. And yes, they are going to be trying and they are going to be difficult, but they can also be for our good. They can refine us and make us who we are," Bradley told DFW's NBC 5.

"One of the things I'm proud of, the good fans say, 'Shawn you didn't back away from anybody.' If Shaq was going to dunk on you, sometimes you blocked it, a lot of times you didn't. But I tried to block everything and if I got dunked on I got dunked on, but if I blocked it, even better."

As Bradley continues to adapt to his new reality, he and his wife have leaned on their faith and made a concerted effort to move forward with a positive attitude. Although he can no longer be active like he once was, Bradley still enjoys going to games and seeing old Mavs teammates and competitors ... and he's also been able to use the Mavs as a therapy and rehab resource.

"Coming here to Dallas and watching those (Mavs playoff) games, I just have to say it was exponentially emotional," said Bradley, who is currently in the process of moving to Dallas full-time. "It wasn't a 'Woe is me. I'm sad I can't do this anymore.' It was that I was excited to see the guys play, to see old friends and competitors."

Whether Bradley ever has a big breakthrough or not, his fight has been nothing short of inspiring. Hopefully, after his move, we'll be seeing even more of Bradley around American Airlines Center going forward.

You can follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter at @dalton_trigg

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Published Sep 1, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.