Shawn Bradley is a nursing case today

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This is how the NBA fan remembers him: Shawn Bradley, tall and slim.

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2003: Shawn Bradley (left) and Dirk Nowitzki have to watch their Mavericks injured against the San Antonio Spurs.

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2004: Shawn Bradley hits a superb dunk against the Phoenix Suns.

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2005: Bradley blocks Houston Rockets center Yao Ming’s shot.

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He’s a giant. Shawn Bradley is 2.29 meters tall. The 49-year-old is still the third tallest NBA player in history – behind Gheorghe Muresan (2.31 meters) and Manute Bol (2.30 meters).

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But Bradley can no longer block balls or throw dunks. On January 20, 2021, an accident changed his life. Near his home, he crashed his racing bike into a parked van at almost 30 kilometers an hour and fell headfirst onto the asphalt.

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He has suicidal thoughts

His helmet broke. Bradley survived, but his spinal cord was pinched by displaced vertebrae. Since then he has been paralyzed from the chest down and can only move his arms.

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At “Sports Illustrated” Bradley talks about his fate. “Maybe it would be better if it was all over,” he sometimes thought.

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Despite these dark suicidal thoughts, the man, who now weighs 160 kilos, fights his way back to life. He has endured a grueling rehab and is learning to get around in an $8,000 wheelchair.

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But his weight and size bother him. At night he has to change position every three hours so that he doesn’t get sore. He does this with ribbons attached to his knees.

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He struggles with fate. Bradley: “It’s a challenge to remember what used to be and to know that it will never be the same again.”

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Earned $70 million

Especially when he sees former teammates, it gets emotional. Dirk Nowitzki, with whom Bradley played for the Dallas Mavericks, for example. “Afterwards I always feel extremely drained,” says the son of a German father and an American father, who also played for Germany’s national team.

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