Former BYU, NBA star Shawn Bradley receives special welcome by coach Mark Pope

PROVO — Mark Pope's voice strained with emotion as he recalled BYU basketball's special, larger-than-life visitor that watched the Cougars' 84-72 win Saturday afternoon over Texas.

Shawn Bradley made a lasting impact on the fifth-year BYU coach's life and basketball career, so having the gentle giant who starred for the Dallas Mavericks in his building and meeting the current team of Bradley's alma mater in the locker room was a special treat.

The former BYU star out of Emery High in Castle Dale, who was the No. 2 pick in the 1993 NBA draft, was honored by the Cougars during the game as he sat courtside with his wife, Carrie — a moment that made Bradley visibly emotional as his 7-foot-6 frame was projected on the Jumbotron during his first visit to his alma mater since a life-altering bicycle accident in January 2021 near his home in St. George.

But long before that day, Bradley made a lasting impact on a young collegiate forward out of the University of Washington, when he wrote a seven-page letter to Pope that preceded a 1996 NCAA championship at Kentucky and a decade-long professional career that included stops with the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.

"Shawn is super special to me. I was a freshman at Washington, living in absolute anonymity and trying to find my way through this game," said Pope, who went on to earn Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 1992. "I just randomly got this letter in the mail from a star who is coming back to be the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, a seven-page letter. I read it and reread it, and the fact that he would reach out was in my heart."

Bradley was one of the top recruits in the country out of Emery High before signing with the Cougars, where the 1990 Parade All-American and McDonald's All-American Game Co-MVP led his team to the NCAA Tournament as a freshman and led the NCAA in blocked shots.

Following a two-year absence to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sydney, Australia, Bradley opted to forego his final three years of eligibility and enter the NBA draft, where he was selected No. 2 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers to start a 12-year NBA career that included the final eight seasons with the Mavericks.

But as he sat in the postgame media room next to two of his players, Jaxson Robinson and Noah Waterman, Pope's admiration for Bradley came for very different reasons than his basketball career.

"I was telling the guys this after the game, and I didn't know this part of the story," Pope said. "Shawn had received a similar letter from Danny Ainge. And the reason that's important is because I'm excited for these guys like Jaxson and Noah to have a chance to do that for so many people. All I know is I got that letter from Shawn, read it over and over, and it meant so much to me. That's pretty cool, this legacy of BYU guys, that is pretty important to watch."

With his massive frame bound to a wheelchair after suffering a traumatic spinal cord injury and undergoing neck fusion surgery from his bike accident, Bradley and his family have faced enormous challenges in their day-to-day lives. But they say they want to use the experience to help bring greater public awareness to the importance of bicycle safety.

"I"ve never been angry with God about this," Bradley told KSL.com in an exclusive interview last spring. "That's just not my relationship with him; it never has been. I was more along the lines of, OK, if you've asked me to do this then help me through it, because I can't do this alone. ... I don't want to be a burden on people, especially the people I love, like my wife and children."

Added Carrie Bradley: "If we can help one person, that would be amazing and that's all worth it right there."

Long before the accident, Bradley's decision to reach out to a Washington freshman made a lifelong impact on BYU's head coach.

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