Shawn Bradley (person)

• Full Name: Shawn Paul Bradley
• Position: Center
• Height: 7-6 / 2m 29cm
• Weight: 265 lbs. / 120.2kg
• College - Brigham Young '91
• Jersey #: 44
• aka: "Stormin' Mormon", "The Beanstalk", "Great White Dope"

"Shawn Bradley is doo-doo."
-Actor Bill Bellamy

Dallas Mavericks Center Shawn Bradley is best known for perennial underachieving, and has become an object of ridicule and resentment as far as most Mavs fans are concerned, as his worst season yet just happened to be the season right after he signed a $42 million contract extension. Up until 2001-2002, Bradley had proven to be a solid defensive presence, a good rebounder, and an exceptional shotblocker-- as he should be, since he's 7'6".

"There's people who support me here and people who don't. It seems that the people who don't have bigger mouths than the people who do."
-Shawn Bradley

Shawn Paul Bradley was born in Landstuhl, Germany on March 22, 1972, although he grew up in the Utah area. His mother and father are 6'0" and 6'8", respectively. Shawn Bradley was raised as a Mormon, and after a single year at Brigham Young University, he instead opted to finish his collegiate career in Australia on a two year Mormon mission, passing out pamphlets door-to-door.

In his only season playing for Brigham Young, Bradley averaged 14.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, and 5.21 bpg. He led the country in blocked shots with 177, and set an NCAA freshman record for total blocks and bpg. He tied David Robinson's NCAA regular season record for blocks in a game with 14 against Eastern Kentucky, and was named an honorable All-American. Despite his solid numbers, Bradley's NBA selection was virtually guaranteed due to his massive height, and he had no qualms about giving up basketball for the next two years. This resulted in many observers critisizing Bradley's lack of work ethic, a tradition which continues unabated to this day.

Bradley was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1993 NBA Draft, with the second overall pick. In his rookie season (1993-94), Bradley averaged a respectable 10.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 3.0 bpg in his first 49 games. Unfortunately, he would miss the final 32 games after sustaining a knee injury in a collision with Harvey Grant of the Portland Trailblazers. The season ended on a positive note, however, as Bradley was selected to the 1994 All-Rookie Second team.

In 1994-95, Bradley played in all 82 games, and averaged 9.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 3.34 bpg. He set a 76ers record for blocks in a season, as well as a new record for disqualifications, with 18. He also led the NBA in personal fouls (338). But despite a decent showing, many observers felt his selection at 2nd pick overall had not been vindicated. Bradley fell out of favor with many Philadelphia fans, who felt the "Great White Hope" had really turned out to be the "Great White Dope". In November of his third season, Bradley was traded to the New Jersey Nets, as part of a six-player deal that sent Derrick Coleman to Philadelphia. In New Jersey, Bradley averaged 11.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 3.73 bpg. He recorded his first ever career triple-double against the Washington Wizards in March of 1996, with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots.

On February 17, 1997, Shawn Bradley was acquired by the Dallas Mavericks, along with Ed O'Bannon, Robert Pack, and Khalid Reeves, in exchange for Chris Gatling, Jim Jackson, Eric Montross, George McCloud, and Sam Cassell. He finished the season as the NBA number one leader in blocked shots with 3.5 bpg, becoming the first Maverick to ever finish ranked first in a league-leader category. He also broke the Mavs' franchise record for points by a center, with 32 against the Boston Celtics in March of 1997. He averaged 14.6 ppg and 8.7 rpg. The next season, Bradley finished 3rd in blocked shots in the league, and averaged 11.4 ppg and 8.1 rpg. He also tied a franchise record for blocks in a game with 13 (as well as fourth-highest in NBA history), as well as blocking his 1,000th career shot on November 22, 1997.

"At least he blocks shots and rebounds. It's not his fault he looks goofy doing it."
-ESPN.com writer Todd Gallagher

1998-1999 saw the beginning of a real decline in Bradley's numbers. He averaged only 8.6 ppg on .480 shooting with 8.0 rebounds and 3.24 blocks in 26.4 mpg, the fewest mpg of his whole career. Still, he finished the season ranked second in blocked shots. In 1999-2001, Bradley played in 77 games and averaged 8.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.47 bpg in only 24.7 mpg. The next season Bradley took a nosedive to averages of 7.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and a team-high 2.78 blocks in 24.4 minutes, although he shot a team-high 49% from the field.

2001-2002 has proven to Bradley's worst season, with the acquisiton of Raef LaFrentz from the Denver Nuggets providing Dallas with a new starting center. Bradley recieved very little playing time, and was just about as invisible as someone who is 7'6" could possibly be. He averaged abysmal career lows of 4.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 1.20 bpg in 14.3 mpg. To further add to his rotten season, Bradley was snubbed by the German Men's basketball team, who, when pressured by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to come up with the money to cover injury insurance for German Mavericks players, gladly paid the fee to allow uberstar Dirk Nowitzki to play in the World Championships, but didn't have enough money left to cover Bradley.

Bradley's wife's name is Annette, and they have four daughters together. Bradley enjoys playing baseball, listening to country music, and his favorite movie is Dances with Wolves. He made a cameo appearance in Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Patrick Ewing, etc. He is currently on his second year of a seven year, $42 million dollar deal signed with the Mavericks.