Nate Robinson health update: Former NBA player issues concerning details needing kidney transplant
Former NBA journeyman and three-time slamdunk contest champion Nate Robinson shared a concerning health update. Back in 2022, Robinson shared with the world that he was dealing with renal kidney failure. The former NBA player has kept his battle with kidney failure mostly private but his latest update sounds troubling.
As per the Daily Mail's Jake Nisse, Robinson has been going through dialysis. This, Robinson believes, is the only thing that is keeping him alive right now. However, he also believes that the treatment isn't going to keep him alive long.
"I know that I don't have long if I can't get a kidney," Robinson said. "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," Robinson added. "And thank God mine accepts it and I can live. If I didn't go to dialysis, I wouldn't live probably longer than a week or two."
Despite never making an All-Star team, Nate Robinson was popular among the fans due to the highlights he could pull off in any given night as well as the fact that he was only 5-foot-9.
Some of his most famous plays included blocks on Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming. He also won the Slam Dunk Contest multiple times, including a victory over 6-foot-11 Dwight Howard in the 2009 contest.
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Nate Robinson learned of kidney issues during his stint with the New York Knicks
While fans have known about Nate Robinson's renal kidney failure since 2002, the 11-year NBA veteran learned about it early in his NBA career.
In an interview posted on the YouTube channel Playmaker HQ, Robinson shared that he learned about his health problems in 2006 when he was playing with the New York Knicks.
Having been drafted in 2005, this was only his second year in the NBA. He said that his doctor ran some tests. Due to these, he found out that his kidney failure was due to high blood pressure. However, the 5-foot-9 guard did not let this stop him from having a fantastic NBA career.
He went on to have an 11-season-long career in the NBA (2005–2016). He also played overseas and in the Big 3 before retiring from professional basketball.
Despite being under six feet tall, Nate Robinson holds the distinction of being the only NBA player to have won the slam-dunk contest three times. This is, in fact, the most wins in NBA history so far.
The first time he won was back in 2006 as a member of the New York Knicks. He battled Andre Iguodala in the final round after Josh Smith and Hakim Warrick were knocked out in round one. He tried to defend his crown the following year but lost to Gerald Green in the final round.
After taking a one-year break from the Slam Dunk contest, he returned in 2009. He faced off against the 2008 champion, Dwight Howard. Then in 2010, Robinson mounted a successful defense of his slam dunk title, winning by the skin of his teeth against DeMar DeRozan.