Shawn Bradley is a former German center who played for 12 years in the NBA. He completed his high school at BYU and picked up attention at college in Utah. He was destined to make it big because of his skill set at a young age and especially his height. At 7’6, he stood among the tallest NBA players. But unfortunately not the most successful ones.

Shawn Bradley was the second pick in the draft for the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers saw his potential and decided to go for the 7’6 giant of a basketball player with still a lot to learn about the game. Things looked good when Shawn ended the season with the acknowledgment of getting on the NBA all-rookie team in his first season. The anticipation around him was high because of his talent.

Shawn was a defensive center. He wasn’t a player who would drive with the ball and dominate the proceedings. But rather he would like to be the start of the offense. He would block the plays and intercept, then pass the ball to his players so that the team could move forward. Bradley played for the 76ers, New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets), and Dallas Mavericks in the 12 seasons of his professional career.

Tallest NBA Players of All Time

Shawn Bradley was calm and composed on the court. He was one of the nicest players on the court, with no trash talking and no rough or dirty play. He was always polite, and according to Shaquille O’Neal, a little too much.

Shaquille O’Neal admits guilt of dunking on Shawn Bradley

Shaq explained that Shawn was one of the most polite and nicest guys in the league, and that is why he could not touch his potential. Shaq said that a certain trait of being mean and dominant is much needed to sustain the center position in the NBA.

While Shawn always had the skillset and talent, what he probably missed the most was the killer mindset. Not that being polite was a weakness, but not having a certain level of rudeness in his game certainly worked against him over the course of his career.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Shaq’s height compared to Bradley among other tallest players in NBA.

Shaq said, “One game I put up 40, 50 points, dunking on him. After the game, he brought his family over. He says, ‘This is my wife. She wants to take a picture.’ I’m like, nice to meet you. I smile into the camera, take the picture, and then felt guilty about dunking on him so many times.”

Shaq kept one more center in the same category, and that was Michael Olowokandi. He said, “Maybe I’m too mean and competitive. But it’s better than the alternative. I look at Michael Olowokandi and Shawn Bradley. They’re big, they have skills. But they’re just not mean. They don’t play hard. That’s why they’re two of the softer centers in the league.”

Shaquille O’Neal also told the time when Bradley fouled Shaq and his reaction to it. “One time Bradley fouled me, and I fell. You know what he said? ‘You all right, man? You all right? You all right?’ He said it about six times going down the court. ‘My fault, man. I didn’t mean to do it.’ Finally, I said, ‘I’m all right, Shawn. Don’t worry about it.’” 

Certainly, there’s truth to what Shaq deduces from Shawn’s career: maybe being the most polite center in the league could not make him the player he probably could have been. But that doesn’t take away any of the talent that he possessed.