What happened to Nate Robinson? Why former 3x Dunk Contest champ needs kidney transplant amid “not long to live” comments

Three-time dunk contest champ Nate Robinson recently left the NBA community alarmed with news that he didn't have long to live. While many fans are aware that Robinson has been undergoing dialysis several times a week to combat kidney problems, the situation has grown more dire. In an interview with DailyMail Sport, Robinson gave an update on the situation.

Two years after announcing that he's in renal kidney failure, the beloved three-time dunk contest champ's condition has exacerbated. As he made clear, receiving dialysis several times a week for four-hour intervals has allowed him to stay alive. Nevertheless, without receiving a kidney transplant, he indicated that he doesn't have long to live.

"'I know that I don't have long if I can't get a kidney 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. ... if I didn't go to dialysis, I wouldn't live probably longer than a week or two. So it's serious."

While there was no timeline given for how long his kidneys can continue to hold up, the NBA community has rallied around Robinson. Jamal Crawford, for example, took to social media, indicating that the NBA community needs to find Nate Robinson a kidney ASAP.

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Looking back at Nate Robinson's renal kidney failure diagnosis after latest troubling update

Nate Robinson's battle with renal kidney failure has been a very public one that has seen the NBA community repeatedly throw their support behind the NBA vet. Despite Robinson announcing the news to the NBA community in 2022, he had previously battled kidney problems silently.

In February, while speaking to HoopsHype's Sam Yip, Robinson indicated that he had been battling kidney problems for four years. Before that, though, he revealed in an interview with Playmaker in 2022 that he first learned of the troubles to come in 2006 when playing for the New York Knicks.

At the time, Nate Robinson indicated that the team used to tell him they would have to check his blood pressure before games. Because of the dangers associated with elevated blood pressure, the team wanted to stay on top of things, butRobinson had other plans.

As he explained, he told team doctors not to check his blood pressure because regardless of what the readings were, he was playing anyway. Around the same time, Robinson also learned that his kidneys were likely to fail in his 30s.

Now, at 39, Robinson seems to be in the later stages of renal kidney failure, with his hope of finding a kidney growing more dire by the day. Nevertheless, as he has indicated in many interviews, he loves a good challenge and is going to fight for as long as he can.