Joshua Huston/NBAE via Getty Images
Former NBA player Nate Robinson says he “doesn’t have long to live” if he doesn’t receive a kidney transplant, according to Jake Nisse of the Daily Mail.
“I know that I don’t have long if I can’t get a kidney,” Robinson told Nisse. “I know I’m not going to have long to live. So I just want to make the best of it as much as I can.”
“Some people’s body reject dialysis. And thank God that mine accepts it and I can live,” Robinson continued. “If I didn’t go to dialysis, I wouldn’t live probably longer than a week or two.”
Robinson first announced he was suffering from renal kidney failure in October 2022.
A first-round pick in the 2005 NBA draft, Robinson played 11 seasons for eight NBA teams including the New York Knicks before playing his final NBA game in 2015.
He then played in the NBA G League, BIG3 and overseas before retiring after suffering renal kidney failure in 2018.
In the NBA, Robinson made history as the only NBA player to have won three Slam Dunk Contests.
He retired having racked up 6,807 points, 1,826 assists and 1,446 rebounds in 618 career regular-season games throughout a career that took him from the Knicks to the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans.
Robinson told Playmaker in 2022 that he learned his kidneys had been damaged by high blood pressure while playing for the Knicks in 2006.
“It was shocking to hear that at some point, some time, my kidneys were going to go,” Robinson said in 2022 (h/t the National Kidney Foundation.) “I wanted to enjoy my time in the league and play for as long as I could. I tried to keep it deep down, live my life, and enjoy the time I had in the NBA. I was not going to let that stop me from playing and doing what I do.”
The former NBA star told HoopsHype’s Sam Yip in February that he was still looking for a kidney.
Until he is able to find a transplant, Robinson told Nisse he does dialysis three times a week, for four hours per session, in order to stay alive.
“The machine has been helping my longevity and my life right now,” Robinson told Nisse. “So I’m just enjoying the times where I do feel healthy. I try to get out there with my kids, see my family and play basketball, do the things that I love.”
Robinson saw his son Nahmier Robinson commit to play college football at Colorado last summer. He appeared in one game and will play as a redshirt freshman next season.
First appeared on bleacherreport.com