

He didn’t know what was happening at first and was eventually diagnosed with a kidney disease.Įlliott kept playing, despite declines in his health and performance, until he couldn’t push it to the side any longer. He said he felt lethargic, lost his appetite, and noticed his hands, feet and face start to swell. Elliott says he started feeling abnormal years before his transplant – around the 1992-93 season. The desire for normalcy is common among transplant recipients.
#Calculus of kidney tv
San Antonio Spurs TV Analyst Sean Elliot gives a speech during Manu Ginobili's Jersey Retirement Ceremony on Maat the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. “And I think that was part of my original goal … just to kind of make people forget about it and treat me like a normal person.” “And they have absolutely no idea,” added Elliott, who is now a TV Analyst for the Spurs. “I see people all the time that have no idea about my story … and I’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah, I had a kidney transplant,’” Elliott, a two time NBA All Star who went on to play 11 seasons with the Spurs and one with the Detroit Pistons, told CNN Sport.

He took his talents and prayers to San Antonio Methodist Specialty and Transplant hospital to get a kidney transplant.Īccording to the NBA’s Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass, Elliott became the first active player to return to play following a transplant. This disease prevents the kidneys from doing their job, that is filtering waste from the blood.Įlliott’s health issues became more public several weeks later when the 31-year-old, newly minted NBA champion, had to step away from his team. He’d unexpectedly developed focal segmental glomerulosclerosis when he was 25.

They would go on to win the championship title that year – their first of five to date.Įlliott’s kidneys were failing when he made that shot, and to hear him tell it, only a few people knew at the time. The crowd roared, Portland’s Amare Stoudemire looked stunned, and the Spurs eked out a 86-85 victory. He was so close to the edge of the court, some of the commentators thought he might step out of bounds. With 12 seconds left on the clock, Elliott fired off a 3-point shot from the sideline. The Spurs were playing the Portland Trail Blazers on their home court, the Alamodome, and they were down by two. It was Memorial Day 1999, Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. He’s the basketball star behind the “Memorial Day Miracle,” arguably the most famous shot in San Antonio Spurs history.
