By Former NBA player Nate Robinson underwent a kidney transplant on Friday after dealing with renal failure for several years.
“I’m here to celebrate and thank the LORD for all he has done in my life, today is the day I get my new kidney,” Robinson, a three-time slam dunk champion who spent 11 years in the NBA, announced in an Instagram post Friday.
“Thank you to all the people that sent prayers and texted my phone giving me encouragement & love!!!”
According to ESPN, the procedure took place at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle after a kidney from a live donor had been sourced for the former point guard.
CNN has contacted the hospital and Robinson’s representatives for comment.
It was while playing with the New York Knicks at the start of his NBA career that Robinson learned that he would one day need a kidney transplant. He didn’t speak publicly about his condition until 2022, seven years after he last played in the league.
“For me, it was shocking to know that at some point, some time, my kidneys were going to go,” Robinson said in a Playmaker HQ documentary released in November 2022.
“I was just trying to enjoy my time when I was in the league, play it as long as I could. I just tried to lock it down deep and just live my life and play, just enjoy the time that I had in the NBA. I was like, ‘Man, I’m not going to let this stop me from playing and doing what I do.’”
Since 2021, Robinson has been regularly receiving dialysis, a procedure to remove waste and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop functioning.
The 40-year-old told ESPN last year about enduring a long wait to receive a kidney.
“Later on in life, when I get a kidney, I’m going to be looking back, like, ‘Damn, I really went through all this.’ That kidney I get, I’m going to cherish it,” he said.
“I’m going to treat it like a baby. I’m going to do everything I’m supposed to do.”
