- Scot Pollard made his search for a heart donor public last month
- The 6-foot-1, 260-pound former basketball player underwent surgery Friday
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
NBA champion Scot Pollard received a heart transplant on Friday, his wife shared on social media.
Pollard, who won the 2007-08 title as a member of the Celtics, needed a transplant due to damage to his heart from a virus he contracted in 2021. The virus likely caused a genetic condition that he has known about since it killed his father. 54, when Schot was 16.
Pollard, now 49, underwent successful surgery after making his search for a donor public last month.
“Scot has a new heart!” his wife Dawn Pollard posted on X.
‘The operation went well and I’m told the heart is big, strong and fits perfectly! Now on to the crucial part of the recovery. We thank everyone for the continued prayers and support, but especially our deepest gratitude to the donor, our hero.”
Scot Pollard and his wife Dawn share an intimate moment before his heart transplant
Dawn shaved her husband’s head and beard before he underwent successful surgery on Friday
Pollard played one season with the Celtics in 2007-08 and won the NBA championship
Before the procedure, Dawn shared intimate photos of her shaving her husband’s head and beard before the transplant.
She asked her followers to pray for her 6-foot-4, 260-pound husband.
“Scot wanted me to let everyone know that the hair from before the heart transplant is gone, it’s time to go!” Please continue to pray for Scot, the surgeons, for the donor and his family who have lost their loved one. This donor has given the most amazing gift of life and we are forever grateful.”
Pollard’s size complicated efforts to find a donor with a heart big enough to fit inside his body.
After making his condition public last month, he began the process of admitting himself to transplant centers. He was admitted to the intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on February 7.
Pollard plays with the Indiana Pacers in a loss to the Denver Nuggets in 2005
“I’m staying here until I get a heart,” he said in a text message to The Associated Press from his hospital room in Nashville, Tennessee. ‘My heart grew weaker. (Doctors) agree this is my best chance to get a faster heart.”
Pollard, a first-round pick in 1997 after helping Kansas reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in four straight seasons, was a useful big man off the bench for much of an NBA career that spanned 11 years and five teams stretched out. H
He played 55 seconds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trip to the NBA Finals in 2007, and won it the following year with the Celtics despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury in February.
Pollard retired after that season and then dabbled in broadcasting and acting. He was a contestant on the 32nd season of ‘Survivor’ where he was voted out on Day 27 with eight castaways remaining.