Former NBA player Nate Robinson will watch the Super Bowl with his donor after undergoing ‘successful’ kidney transplant

Former NBA player Nate Robinson underwent a successful kidney transplant on Friday, and now plans to watch the Super Bowl in hospital with his donor.

After dealing with renal failure for several years, Robinson, a three-time slam dunk champion who spent 11 years in the NBA, had the transplant at the University of Washington Medical Center.

“I’m thankful for my doctors, the University of Washington, my family, my donor, and his family,” Robinson told CNN via his agent, Polo Kerber.

Kerber also said that was the procedure was successful, adding: “He’s already feeling (and) looking a lot better. He walked around the hospital a bit today and is planning on watching the Super Bowl at the hospital with his donor.”

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 having to endure 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.”

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com