Shawn Bradley announces he was left paralyzed after his custom-built bike was hit by a car earlier this year. An avid bicycle rider, Bradley, 48, was hit a block away from his St. George, Utah home on January, 20. Bradley underwent neck fusion surgery soon after and remains in rehabilitation. Born in West Germany, Bradley was 7 foot, 6 inches tall by the time he landed at Brigham Young University. His freshman season with the Cougars was punctuated by blocking 10 shots against Eastern Kentucky in the 1991 NCAA basketball tournament. The single-game record was bested the following year when LSU's Shaquille O'Neal blocked 11 shots in a first-round game against BYU. Bradley embarked on a two-year church mission in Sydney, Australia and never played collegiately again. Despite his inactivity from competitive basketball he became the No. 2 overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Although never achieving NBA superstardom, Bradley spent 12 years in the league, the last eight and a half seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. In 2010 Bradley unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Utah House of Representatives in District 44. In a press release by the Mavericks, Bradley is said to be in good spirits but faces a long, arduous road to recovery. He plans to use his ordeal to educate others on bicycle safety.
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