3-time NBA Slam Dunk winner Nate Robinson needs new kidney to live: ‘I don’t have long’

Nate Robinson has been dealing with kidney failure for many years now and recently appeared on a podcast saying he’s still in need of a potentially life-saving organ transplant. The former NBA guard, who mostly became famous for winning three NBA Slam Dunk titles, revealed that he “doesn’t have long to live.” 

First time he ever shared about his situation was back in 2021, when he sought out to “be the voice for all those who are having trouble speaking about this illness, and come together for a greater cause: our health.” Incredible as it is, he’s yet to find a kidney that will work for him.

“I know that I don’t have long if I can’t get a kidney,” he told the press this week. “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.”

Nate Robinson shares an update two years after announcing his kidney failure diagnosis 🙏

(via @MailSport) pic.twitter.com/So8A5w1Cl7

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 10, 2024

The 39-year-old revealed that he goes through dialysis procedures every day. “Some people’s body reject dialysis. And thank God that 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. So it’s serious, can’t miss a day.

“I go in for four hours, three days a week, four hours a day. And they clean my blood to get my toxins out. And they help me out a lot because that’s how I’m living,” he shared.

The former basketball star, who played for eight different teams during his 11-year career, confessed that his health issues have provided him with a new perspective about life.

“I just thank God for every opportunity that’s happened in my life. Even with these kidneys situations, because it’s gotten me to slow down a lot, where I can take time to appreciate life itself,” Robinson expressed in a recent sit down on the The OGs podcast, alongside Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller.

Robinson hopes to become a role model for others who will potentially suffer from kidney failures and need guidance

“You know dealing with this situation with my kidneys man, it’s opened my eyes to where you know I can talk about it and help others. If I was a high school kid going through something like this, it would be scary, and I wouldn’t know how to cope or deal with something like this… you know I can be somebody’s reason to keep fighting and keep going,” Nate said on air.

The former athlete revealed that many of these experiences are traumatising, as many times he recalled vomitting painfully due to the treatment. Even when you are hospitalised, he recommends playing good attention to the food he eats and how it might impact his body.

In a 2022 interview, Robinson recalled how the Knicks’ medical staff would ask him to do blood pressure exams before games, but he would often refuse them. He said he didn’t understand how high blood pressure affected his kidneys.

“They used to tell me that we’re going to have to check your blood pressure and if your blood pressure is too high, you can’t play in the game. I used to tell them, ‘Don’t check my blood pressure because I am playing regardless of what you say,’” shared the former New York player. “I thought I was young and invincible. I didn’t know it was going to catch up to me.”