Randy Foye refuses to let condition define or limit career

When the Denver Nuggets traded for sharpshooting ball handler Randy Foye, they knew that they were getting a player with unique external qualities related to the game of basketball. What they did not realize was just how unique Foye was internally.

It turns out that Foye, a guard out of Villanova University, has a rare condition known as situs inversus, where his organs are not located in the same position as a normal person’s. Foye’s organs are arranged so that they are opposite of where they should be, in a sort of mirror image.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Foye’s condition impacts about one in every 10,000 people, and he believes that he is the only current professional athlete in the four major sports who has situs inversus. While the condition is not physically limiting, it does make Foye a bit more susceptible to infections of the respiratory system and bronchitis. In fact, it was during a bout with pneumonia that Foye’s condition was discovered.

Acquired from the Utah Jazz this summer as part of a three-team trade also involving the Golden State Warriors, Foye is set to challenge Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler for minutes at the shooting guard position.