The Rise and Fall of Lamar Odom

Originally from Queens, New York, Lamar Joseph Odom had a rough upbringing.  He relied mostly on his grandmother when his mother passed away of colon cancer when he was just 12 years old.  His father was not involved in Lamar’s life as he battled PTSD issues after being in the Vietnam War and a heroin addiction.  His first sign of predisposition to addiction issues  that he could possibly face is his life.  Odom turned to basketball and attended Christ The King high school where he played three years of high school basketball.  During his playing days in New York, he became teammates with Ron Artest in an AAU league.  He was quickly named to USA Today’s All USA First Team.

Odom originally planned on attending University of Nevada to Las Vegas, however, there were problems with his ACT score. Sports Illustrated looked into his score and the school chose to release him to get ahead of the scandal.  It was the first of many times Lamar Odom’s name would be in the headlines.  He attended University of Rhode Island where he only played for a year, but made an impact on the team.  He led his team to a conference championship in 1999 where he was averaging 17.6 points a game.

Odom decided to enter the draft that where he was taken fourth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.  While on the Clippers, he was suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.  Many believed that the suspension stemmed from a positive marijuana test. Despite making the 2000 All-Rookie NBA team, he was acquired by the Miami Heat as a restricted free agent.  Odom did well in Miami, but was ultimately traded in a package for Shaquille O’Neal.

Odom is remembered mostly for his days in purple and gold. While it took him a few years to settle in( shoulder injury  first year on the Lakers), Odom proved to be a valuable member of two NBA Championship teams.  In 2009, he signed a four-year/$33 million contract.  It was also the year he wed Khloe Kardashian. The two wed after only knowing each other 30 days.  While many worried about them rushing into a marriage, both appeared relatively happy.  They were a constant target of the paparazzi who captured almost every moment of their lives; which were already being filmed for the Kardashian hit show,  Keeping Up With the Kardashians.  While 2011 was a great year for Odom, winning Sixth Man of the Year, he was also faced with another scandal.

While home in New York, Odom experienced a life changing moment.  A fifteen-year-old boy was hit by a car Odom was in.  The boy later died.  He was photographed after the crash and looked shaken up.  Odom knows the pain of the loss of a young child.  In 2006, his son Jayden, who he had with ex-wife Liza Morales, passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.  Yet more stress for a man who had addiction in his family.

In 2011, Odom was blindsided when he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.  It was possibly the worst season of his career.  On April 9th, he was moved to the inactive part of the roster after he and the Mavericks decided it just was not working out.  While dealing with a professional blow, he started his own reality show Khloe & Lamar.  He was seen as a sweet and compassionate husband who would do anything for his wife.   He even got a new contract with the Los Angeles Clippers after the fiasco in Dallas.  The couple seemed truly in love, but there was one problem that looked like it had an impact on Lamar. Wife Khloe could not pregnant and the show centered around this struggle.

Tabloid rumors had long painted the couple to be quite the opposite of the happy couple they portrayed on television.  Cheating rumors were constantly swirling, including in 2013.  Gossip columns thought they had discovered Lamar having an affair, but there were many other parts about his life that were brought to the surface.  Rumors took off like crazy that Odom went missing on an alleged crack binge.  Trying to get her husband to go get treatment, Khloe organized an intervention at their home which did not go well and was when Lamar went missing.

Odom was found days later at a hotel in Los Angeles. Khloe had thrown him out of their home at this point and many sources said the couple had officially separated.  He was seen visiting their home, but seen leaving shortly after.  Professionally things were not going well either.  Odom was s free agent who many expected to resign with the Clippers, however, they decided after these rumors resurfaced that they would not be resigning him.  The team where he gained his notoriety, the Los Angeles Lakers, did offer him a special deal.  If he got help with whatever he was battling, they would sign him for the upcoming season.

He declined their offer and others who pleaded for the NBA star to seek treatment.  Things really came to a head when Odom was arrested for a DUI.  After allegedly refusing any chemical tests, he was booked at 3:54 AM.  [Nothing good comes from being out at that hour.]  Cops alleged that he was acting under the influence when they pulled him over, but there was no evidence found in the car to prove that.

The latest news about Lamar has been conflicting.  People.com reported that he was in rehab seeking treatment, but then TMZ reported that he was not there.  Hopefully if all of this is true Lamar receives the treatment that people are saying he needs.  A guy who had persevered through many heart breaking moments in life  now appears that he can no longer do it.  Odom struggled in silence and now that it has been made public, hopefully, this will be rock bottom and force him to get help.  Just another athlete who could not resist temptation when everything was being handed to them.