Nate “Tiny” Archibald, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons and was a six-time All-Star, was diagnosed with a rare, incurable heart disease called amyloidosis in December 2016, Archibald reveals to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan:
“What I have is really rare,” he says. “There’s no pills, nothing they have found that works. I’m being tested all the time, just hoping, you know?
“My [heart] could go any minute. But I’m not ready for that. I want to be around for a long time.”
Amyloidosis occurs when amyloid, a starchlike protein, is deposited in the liver, kidneys, spleen or other tissue or organ. For Archibald, the amyloid is in his heart.
Archibald explained the basic physiology of the disease to MacMullan:
“What’s happening is my heart is beating too fast and too hard,” Archibald says. “There’s blockage in there and we gotta find a way to dissolve some of it. My heart is taking a pounding, and that blockage is going to cause it to malfunction.”
Five months before the health screening that revealed the amyloid deposit in Archibald’s heart, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association voted to devote millions of dollars to fund the health insurance of retired players. This coverage began in January 2017 – a month after Archibald’s diagnosis. Archibald expressed his deep gratitude:
“If I saw Chris Paul, LeBron, D-Wade and those guys, I’d give them a squeeze,” Archibald says. “I would love to thank them personally, but I’m sure they don’t even know who I am. I was playing before they were born.”
…
“If not for today’s players,” Archibald says, “I don’t think a lot of us old guys would be here today. It used to be when someone passed, it was, ‘Oh, he died,’ and that’s it.
“Now we’re able to pinpoint why they are gone and realize, ‘This could have been avoided.’ I want to thank them for that. They are saving us.”
Those guys definitely all know who Tiny Archibald is; the Hall-of-Famer is the only player ever to lead the league in both points and assists in the same season.
