Editor’s note: This story contain a description of suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.
For the first time, Shawn Bradley is opening up about the bike accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
The former Dallas Mavericks center and 14-year NBA veteran recently spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Brian Burnsed about the collision and its aftermath. It happened in Jan. 2021, as the 7-foot-6 Bradley was riding his bike around his neighborhood in St. George, Utah.
In a Dodge minivan just behind him, a young mother was hustling to pick up her child from school. Bradley, who avoids naming the driver, to shield her from public scrutiny, says she bumped him from behind as he drifted left to avoid the [parked] Saturn—his Garmin GPS shows that he instantaneously accelerated to 17 mph—which propelled him toward the parked car. The shifter on his right…