The player went on to win two NBA championship titles with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
Lamar Odom For The Lakers (Source: Sports Illustrated)
Odom also played for the United States team in the Summer Olympics and the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
The power forward helped the U.S. win the gold medal in 2010 and became the first player to win an NBA championship title and a gold medal.
Besides that, the power forward player has appeared in several television shows like Modern Family and Entourage and movies like Jack and Jill and Van Wilder.
The former jersey number 7 also emerged as a contestant in Dancing with the Stars.
Before going into details about the player, here are some quick facts.
The 44-year-old player was born on November 6, 1979, to Joe Odom and Cathy Mercer. He was born and raised in Queens, New York.
Odom mainly had a difficult childhood with his mother suffering from cancer, and he was only 12 years old when she passed away.
On top of that, his father was a heroin addict and never showed him fatherly love or performed a father’s duties. His maternal grandmother, Mildred Mercer, raised the former NBA player.
Lamar Odom’s Parents (Source: Fame Focus)
Lamar was an academically average student throughout school. In his senior year, he transferred schools due to poor grades and landed at St.Thomas Aquinas High School in Connecticut.
In his new school in his last year, he became Parade’sPlayer of the Year.’ Moreover, he was also named USA Today’sAll-USA First Team.’
He also played along with Kobe Bryant in the Adidas ABCD camp. The player went on to attend the University of Rhode Island for a college education.
Lamar Odom | Age, Height, And Weight
‘Lam Lam’ will turn 44 on November 6, 2024. The basketball player weighs 230 lb, i.e., 104 kg, and is 6 feet 10 inches high (2.08m)
Lamar Odom | Basketball Career
College Career
The former Laker wanted to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on scholarship but was eventually let go after suspicions arose about his high ACT score.
On top of that, authorities arrested him for soliciting a prostitute. Furthermore, he also received $5,600 in illegal payment through a booster, which led to the University’s coach’s firing.
Lamar Odom Playing College Basketball (Source: Sports Illustrated)
The New Yorker finally decided on the University Of Rhode Island. However, since he did not take a matriculation exam, he sat out the first season. Besides, he also vanished weeks before finals, which jeopardized his college education at the University.
However, after being inspired by his grandmother and Rams‘ assistant coach DeGregorio, he became the Most Valuable Player of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
He was also named First Team All-Conference and the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in the one season he played with the Rams.
Professional Career
Playing Career With The L.A. Clippers.
The Rams player was the fourth overall pick by the L.A. Clippers. The player scored 30 points and 12 rebounds in his first game in the NBA and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Playing For The Clippers (Source Peoria Journal Star)
While in the Clippers, the NBA player was suspended twice for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. His second suspension was within eight months of the first. The 44 admitted to smoking marijuana.
Besides, he became a restricted free agent after playing 49 games in the 2002-03 season.
Playing Career With The Miami Heat.
Odom played with NBA players Dwayne Wade, Caron Butler, and Eddie Jones and had a promising career with the Heats. Despite having a bad start, they ended up competing for playing in the playoffs.
The Scorpio scored 30 points, 19 rebounds, and 11 assists in a home against Sacramento Kings.
After the season, the Lakers traded him.
Playing Career With The Los Angeles Lakers.
In the power forward’s first season as a Laker, he suffered an injury that forced him to stay out of the first season.
Despite his irregularity as a player initially, he improved a lot in his years with the Lakers. He scored his triple-double for the first time against the Golden State Warriors.
The former Clippers went on to win his first championship with the Lakers in 2009 after defeating Orlando Magic. After that, the Heats tried their best to get their former player back, but after much contemplation, he signed a $33 million deal with the Lakers.
Odom played a crucial role in the 2010 NBA championship against the Boston Celtics.
‘Lam Lam’ With Kobe Bryant (Source: Sportskeeda)
The 55-year-old kept improving as a player with the Lakers and gave his strong performance in the following season. As a result, he won the NBA Sixth Man Of The Year award.
The player took a break from basketball when he was a passenger in an SUV, which resulted in an accident that turned out to be fatal to a teenage cyclist. At the same time, his cousin, with whom he was close, was also murdered.
Playing Career With The Dallas Mavericks.
Lamar struggled to find his place in the Mavericks. On top of that, he wasn’t happy about the trade to the Dallas team, either.
He’d missed a few games for personal reasons and could not play in a game against San Antonio Spurs.
In April of 2012, news came out that he had departed from the team after having a clash with Dallas Mavericks’ owner.
The Mavericks owner, Cuban, reported that it was the last straw. Instead of letting him go, the team placed him on the inactive list for the season.
For the Dallas Mavericks (Source: Twitter)
After that, he went back to the Clippers, where he played all 82 games in the regular season in the 2012-13 year. After that, the Clippers and Lakers showed some interest in signing but devoted themselves to other players.
Being out of shape, he scored his career lows with the Clippers.
Playing Career With The Laboral Kutxa Baskonia.
The American player joined the Spanish league for a 2-month deal. Nevertheless, due to his back injury and doctors finding him unfit for playing, he returned to the United States. The former Lakers only played two seasons for the team.
Playing Career With The New York Knicks.
For the 2013-14 season, Odom joined the Knicks. However, he did not play in the final season of the team. The Knicks did not get into the playoffs that year and finally, in July, waived the former NBA player.
Playing Career In 2019
After a long pause due to his health complications, he returned to basketball. He planned to enter the Chinese Basketball Association but later didn’t as he was not fit enough.
He joined the Philippine club Mighty Sports in 2018 and, in 2019, played in rapper Ice-cube’s BIG3 league.
Stats
Career statistics
Points
12,781 (13.3 PPG)
Rebounds
8,059 (8.4 RPG)
Assists
3,554 (3.7 APG)
Lamar Odom | Marriage And Kids
The former Knicks player was with his girlfriend Liza Morales for a long time before he got married.
The former couple had three kids, Destiny Odom, their first child born in 1998; their second child Lamar Jr. was born in 2002, and their third child Jayden Odom was born in 2005.
Unfortunately, their last child passed away in his sleep when he was an infant due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
The model filed for divorce again in 2016, and it was finalized by the end of the year. However, ex-spouses still maintain a friendly relationship.
Lamar was currently dating health and life coach Sabrina Parr with whom he got engaged in November 2019. However, on November 5, 2020, Sabrina confirmed that their engagement had been called off.
Now in the 2022 update, his rumored girlfriend is transgender actress, Daniielle Alexis
What happened To Lamar Odom? | Drug Overdose & Medical Condition
Odom’s staff rushed him to the hospital on October 13, 2015, lying unconscious at a brothel in Nevada.
The player had suffered several strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure. On top of that, he had used cocaine in the previous days leading to his unconsciousness.
The American player went comatose. He was on life support, and a medical team moved him to a Los Angeles hospital from Nevada.
However, he recovered well and left the hospital on January 8, 2016. Later on, Odom publicly talked about his struggle and addiction to drugs and recovery and called himself a ‘walking miracle.’
In February 2022, Odom is clean and healthy now, he was a HouseGuest on the third season of Celebrity Big Brother.
Lamar Odom | Net Worth And Salary
The former Clippers’ net worth is $30 million. The player had a salary of $8.2 million when he was in the NBA.
During his career in the NBA, the 55-year-old had earned around $115 million in salary alone. The Lakers paid him the most, and he also made a lot from deals and endorsements.
Book On His Struggle With Drugs, Sex, And Fame.
Besides that, the American player also has his film and music production company, Rich Soil Entertainment.
On top of that, he has also made appearances in commercials and several TV shows and movies. Also, Lamar recently published a book titled ‘Darkness to Light: A Memoir.’
Lamar Odom | Social Media Presence
The New Yorker is on Instagram, with over 828 thousand followers. However, he is not quite active on his account but has 43 posts.
The basketball player is also on Twitter, with 3.6 million followers. In addition, celebrities like Stephen Curry, Justin Bieber, LeBron James, and Ellen DeGeneres follow him, including many more stars and basketball players.
Common Queries About Lamar Odom
What is Lamar Odom doing now?
Odom owns a music and film production Company called Rich Soil Entertainment. However, little information is available regarding what the former player is doing now.
Who is Lamar Odom dating now?
The former basketballer was dating Sabrina Parr, and the two were even engaged for a year before calling it quits. Odom later claimed that Parr was taking advantage of him for “monetary reasons.”
Furthermore, he and Karlie Reed fueled dating rumors as they were spotted together several times. However, his now rumored girlfriend is a transgender actress, Daniielle Alexis.
Was Lamar in a relationship with a transgender woman?
He was invited to the brothel by a transgender porn star named Madison Montag on the night of his overdose.
However, he was shown a lineup of women upon arriving, and the former NBA player was reportedly too ashamed to go for Montag.
Who won Lamar Odom vs. Aaron Carter?
In the match between these two, the two-time NBA champion won the boxing match against Aaron Carter.
How many rings does Lamar Odom have?
The sources say that Lamar wears nothing much but he has two rings so we can say he wears two rings.
My name is Urusha Niroula. I have been working as a writer at Playersbio.com since September 2020. I have always had a great fondness for English writing, speaking, and reading. Furthermore, my hobbies include going on walks and short rides, watching Netflix, and sometimes sitting idly.
Lamar needs to start paying his child support again. I was 15 years old when i had my first child 17 when i had my second child. I got up every day at 430 to delivered newspapers, then went to school for 745. got out of school at 315. then i would cut grass, rake leaves, shovel snow, and would at an area diner just to make sure my kids always had what they needed. I did all of this while also being HOMELESS sleeping on the street. you can do it being worth 30 million dollars. MAKES ME SICK, BE A F**KING MAN AND SUPPORT YOU KIDS.
Somehow I can’t help but feel like when ppl are doing well in their lives, meet someone and fall in love with a person who has a reality show, as alone as they come on television into that reality show life, their careers go to shit! Look at Kroy Bierman, he was doing well playing professional football and not long after getting with Kim (housewives of Atlanta) he soon became a free agent. They do have beautiful children and every child is a blessing. I kinda feel like this is what happened to Lamar, although he did have some issues before, coming into that reality life, just made things worse for him. If you’re worth 30 million dollars……..should be NO reason to get behind in child support. Idk the situation with Lamar and child support pertaining to his kids but, no reason that he should ever be behind in child support for his children.
Lamar needs to start paying his child support again. I was 15 years old when i had my first child 17 when i had my second child. I got up every day at 430 to delivered newspapers, then went to school for 745. got out of school at 315. then i would cut grass, rake leaves, shovel snow, and would at an area diner just to make sure my kids always had what they needed. I did all of this while also being HOMELESS sleeping on the street. you can do it being worth 30 million dollars. MAKES ME SICK, BE A F**KING MAN AND SUPPORT YOU KIDS.
Somehow I can’t help but feel like when ppl are doing well in their lives, meet someone and fall in love with a person who has a reality show, as alone as they come on television into that reality show life, their careers go to shit! Look at Kroy Bierman, he was doing well playing professional football and not long after getting with Kim (housewives of Atlanta) he soon became a free agent. They do have beautiful children and every child is a blessing. I kinda feel like this is what happened to Lamar, although he did have some issues before, coming into that reality life, just made things worse for him. If you’re worth 30 million dollars……..should be NO reason to get behind in child support. Idk the situation with Lamar and child support pertaining to his kids but, no reason that he should ever be behind in child support for his children.