Ex-UW Huskies star Nate Robinson is getting a new kidney

Former UW Huskies star Nate Robinson is undergoing a kidney transplant Friday, the three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion announced on social media.

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In October 2022, Robinson revealed he had been going through treatments for renal kidney failure for four years.

Robinson has helped raise money for the National Kidney Foundation since he first went public with his diagnosis.

Originally on scholarship to play cornerback for the UW football team, Robinson helped spark what could be considered the greatest era of UW men’s basketball during a decorated three-year career with the Huskies.

Robinson’s game-tying 3-pointer that completed a 16-point comeback in an eventual overtime win over Oregon State in the 2003-04 season was a clear turning point for the Huskies’ program. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak for a team that was three games under .500 (5-8), and UW went on to 11 of its final 13 regular season games, reach the Pac-10 Tournament title game and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.

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Robinson, a former multi-sport standout of Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School, led the Huskies to their first Pac-10 Tournament title, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet Sixteen berth the following season.

The 5-foot-9 guard was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection, a one-time All-American and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award during the 2004-05 season, which is awarded to a player who excels on the court despite their size. He averaged 14.4 points, 4.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game over his three seasons at UW.

Robinson went on to be a first-round draft pick by the Phoenix Suns in 2005 and played for six teams during an odds-defying 11-year NBA career. He is the second-shortest player to win the Slam Dunk Contest (which he won in 2006, 2009 and 2010) and one of only two players under 6 foot to do so. Robinson averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds in the NBA.

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