Nate Robinson, who has dealt with kidney disease for the past 18 years, said he will die if he doesn’t find a kidney donor soon.
The former Knicks guard, who turned 40 at the end of May, discussed the life-threatening disease in an interview with Men’s Health published Tuesday — and explained how “my lady” helped him change his perspective on fighting for his life after a bad case of COVID-19 in 2020 led to him starting dialysis after his kidneys had failed two years prior.
“I was so angry in the beginning. I was so mean,” Robinson said while reflecting on his journey. “I didn’t want to bring that darkness to [my family]. I had a kick in the ass from my lady. She told me they were here to love me, they understood what I was going through, but you can’t be mean to yourself, and you can’t be mean to us.
“And I didn’t notice it until they called me out on it. Sometimes you need that; you need to know when you’re f–kin’ up. I was acting a certain way where I couldn’t see it.”
Robinson, who was officially diagnosed with kidney disease in 2006, refused to believe warnings from his doctors at the time that his kidney function was declining and would likely fail in his 30s.
The three-time champion of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest managed the disease at first by checking into hospitals for dehydration and vomiting.
However, a “bad” case of COVID in 2020 led to the start of his dialysis treatment, which he said was the only option he had left at that point.
Robinson explained that he isolated himself from his family and friends during the first two years of his dialysis treatment in Seattle.
“Nobody saw me,” he said of that time. “I was in the depths about this s–t. Some days I didn’t want to leave the house; I just didn’t want to do dialysis no more. Some days, I did wanna be here, and do this, until I find a kidney.”
The transition from being a 5-foot-9 dunk champion, and feeling “like I was Superman,” to becoming nearly unrecognizable due to the disease broke his spirit.
“It was difficult to cope with for the longest time. I didn’t know how to react or how to make it seem like this was my life now,” he said.
Robinson was described as frail and having a puffy face, pale skin, blotches around his eyes and swollen hands and feet.
Robinson revealed he was undergoing treatment for renal kidney failure publicly in October 2022.
His kidneys are functioning at less than 15 percent of their optimal capacity, he shared with Men’s Health.
Robinson is hoping to receive a kidney from “family, friends, or a cool-ass fan,” he said.
The former NBA guard also hopes to get on the Washington state kidney transplant waitlist and eventually the national list soon.
Robinson is the youngest patient at the place where he goes for dialysis in Seattle.
A first-round pick by the Knicks in 2005, Robinson went on to play four-plus seasons for New York before having stints with the Celtics, Thunder, Warriors, Bulls, Nuggets, Clippers and Pelicans.
Robinson briefly took up boxing and he was knocked out by Jake Paul in the second round of a November 2020 fight in Los Angeles on the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. undercard.
