Rumors

Lights, camera, layup. The NBA Summer League is giving athletes another shot that takes place behind the camera. With assists from Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and Hollywood power players Mark Wahlberg and Deon Taylor, the Summer League Film Festival is coming back starting July 17 in Las Vegas. The three-day festival will bring big-screen storytelling through 34 selected projects, spotlighting stories produced by NBA stars past and present including Nikola Jokic, Luguentz Dort, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Cole Anthony, Keyon Dooling and Udonis Haslem.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Nate Robinson: I played in the Finals. I didn't really get to play like that because Doc Rivers was on some bullsh*t. But I was mad because we lost by four points. I said, "D, I can score four points in my sleep, bro." I couldn't believe it. He didn't even play me that game. I was hurt watching that confetti fall and watching Kobe Bryant just enjoy… That could have been us. I was sick.

YouTube

Nate Robinson on Kobe Bryant’s 61-point game vs. Knicks: He looked just like Michael Jordan. Spitting image. Everything he did, how he ran, and how he just wanted to just kill whoever was in front of him. I'm like, “That's MJ right there. That's the aura that he got from MJ. He's the closest thing we gonna see to him."

YouTube

Nate Robinson called the man who donated a kidney and saved the former Knicks guard’s life a “brother” and a “guardian angel” in a new video that highlights Robinson’s fight to overcome kidney failure and the man who helped him do it. The former hooper underwent a kidney transplant earlier this year at the University of Washington after learning nearly 20 years ago that his kidneys weren’t functioning properly.

New York Post

Robinson and Cleveland were reunited as part of the Playmaker video that was published on Tuesday, which included an emotional moment where Cleveland surprises Robinson and his family while being interviewed. “I got this guy right here to thank for [my kidney]. Some people don’t get to meet their guardian angels. I got a brother in mine,” an emotional Robinson said. “Mine is my brother, man. He helped me a lot, big time. I was struggling and he came through in the clutch.”

New York Post

But the fight took its toll on Nate Robinson. “Dialysis is hard to explain. Your kidneys stop working, so the machine cleans your blood and puts it back in. You get stabbed with two needles three times a week for four hours each time. That was my life for four years. The mental part was the hardest. There were times I wanted to give up, but I’ve never quit anything in my life. I had a support system—my mom, my grandma, friends. They sat with me during dialysis. Without them, I wouldn’t have made it.” Then came the call he had been praying for. “God sent me an angel. His name is Shane Cleveland—he gave me a healthy kidney. They told me at Christmas and it was the best gift I ever received. I cried like a baby for three or four days. When the doctor called and said I’d get a kidney, I fell to my knees and said, ‘Thank God.’ I called my mom, my dad—we all cried. It wasn’t just being sick. I was fighting for my life.”

BasketNews

Today, after a successful transplant in February, Robinson is back on his feet, speaking with gratitude, faith, and a renewed sense of purpose. “I'm good. I'm working, getting better. I'm enjoying life, I got a second chance and I'm trying to take everything slow. I'm enjoying my children and just living," he told Saar Shoham from Sport5. That second chance has changed his perspective in profound ways. “Life looks different now. When you get a second chance at life, you want to do things the right way. I want to live a long life, enjoy watching my kids grow up, be a grandpa one day. Now I enjoy the job where I can go out and do things.”

BasketNews

Robinson explained how his condition—diagnosed early in his NBA career—forced him to manage blood pressure closely just to stay on the court. “When I was in the NBA, my kidneys weren't failing yet, so I was still relatively healthy. I had to keep my blood pressure low so they would let me play. Before every game, I had to calm down for the tests so I could get cleared. It was a game before the game.”

BasketNews

Tony Allen: A lot of people don't know this, but I backed up Rondo as a point guard. Nate Robinson was also a point guard, but he was playing around too much. Doc Rivers told him, "Man, you will never play another game in a Celtics uniform." Damn. He played too much. Nate Robinson was that type of guy, man—listen. Nate Robinson was the type of dude who, if you left something in the locker room, he’d take your outfit and put it up on the board. Right there—where the matchups, the opponent's plays, and the game diagrams were. And right underneath it, he’d write: "Who the hell wore this?" with an arrow pointing at the outfit. Guys would go get their shots up, come back, and see their outfit on display. By the time they got to their locker, they’d be looking around like, "Man, what the hell?"

YouTube

Jorge Sierra: Most dunk contest wins ever: Mac McClung (tied with Nate Robinson). Most perfect scores: Mac McClung (tied with Aaron Gordon). What a show he's put.

bsky.app

Former NBA point guard Nate Robinson said he’s undergoing a kidney transplant Friday after dealing with renal failure for the last seven 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 wrote on Instagram, “thank you to all the people that sent prayers and texted my phone giving me encouragement & love !!!”

New York Times

Robinson, 40, announced in 2022 he was receiving treatment for renal failure diagnosis and had been privately dealing with it for four years. He said he chose to reveal the news publicly because he wanted “to be the voice for all those who are having trouble speaking about this illness.”

New York Times

Tony Allen: "It was no greater feeling—I ain’t even gonna lie— than to beat Doc. Like I say, man, I told a lot of websites this, a lot of podcasts this. You know, I was in Boston before I came to Memphis. Like I said, I asked Doc and Danny Ainge, 'Hey, man, give me a third year.' They wanted to re-sign me to the same deal, but they put a lot of belief in Nate Robinson—shoutout Nate Robinson. But after winning the championship and going to the finals, you know, I thought I was embedded in the team. I thought I was family to the Celtics, you know what I’m saying? "So, to come here to Memphis and catch them on the rebound, with Doc being on the other end, it felt like my duty to go hard—to go hard and beat those guys, send them fishing. It meant more, you know what I’m saying? Not only that, but I felt like, 'Doc, man, damn. I feel like you should’ve been there for me, bro. I was one of your soldiers.' To this day, man, when I see him across the fence, you know, I still feel like I want to beat Doc. You know what I’m saying?

YouTube

Seattle Storm: Local legend @nate_robinson in the house 👋

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