Did you ever notice how often we use the word interesting?
We throw that word around as frequently as we do the word “the.” It will be
interesting. That’s interesting. Or we use the word interesting by itself. Well
let me say without any doubt, Lamar Odom is an interesting person. There are
parts of his life that are very much like we have heard about other athletes.
Born in Queens, NY. Dad is a drug addict. Mom died while Lamar was still a kid.
Raised by grandma. Throw in the common story that he went to three high schools
and was heavily recruited out of high school to play at some of the best
college basketball programs in the country. He was also named as Parade
Magazine’s high school basketball player of the year in 1997. He committed to
playing at UNLV, but was busted for illegally taking money from boosters, and was
forced to transfer to the University of Rhode Island. In just one year, he led
them to the Elite 8 of March Madness. Odom was then selected as the fourth
overall player in the NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. If the story ends
here, it’s the typical Horatio Alger tale. Young upstart faces many challenges,
defies the odds and achieves beyond anyone’s expectations. In real life, it’s
never that clean or easy.
Ahh yes, real life. Lamar can be brilliant, Lamar can be
high on candy (and not candy as a code word for drugs, I actually mean candy).
Lamar can be flat out, well, Lamar. Any basketball fan has said these words,
“Lamar Odom has as much talent as anyone in the NBA.” But then it’s followed up
with something like, “If only he had the heart or work ethic.” Well let me say
this, Lamar Odom definitely has heart. I got a chance to see him up close
briefly at the 2000 NBA All-Star weekend in Oakland. Most people remember that
weekend as the Vince Carter Slam Dunk Show. I remember plenty of things, most
memorable being meeting Magic Johnson. I also watched as John Thompson walked
up to and kissed some of the most beautiful women in the world. I saw Allan
Iverson walk past me and realized he was maybe an inch or two taller than me. I
also remember two rookies, Steve Francis and Lamar Odom. While Francis, who
also had some talent, was very unmemorable, Odom was holding court with many
other players in the league. He was also respectful of the legends at the
extravaganza and understood the food chain of the NBA.
In 2004, Odom was traded from the Miami Heat to the Los
Angeles Lakers. Right away he became a fan favorite. No question he became the
2nd most popular player on the team. He was asked to be the Robin to
Kobe Bryant’s Batman. But along the way, everyone could see something missing.
There were nights where Odom would put up solid 20-point, 10-rebound games and
do so with incredible ease. Other nights he just looked uninterested or unable
to rise to the occasion of a pressure situation. He was struggling to be even
the 2nd option, let alone a star. It’s hard to decide whether Odom
wearing his emotions on his sleeve is a good thing or a bad thing. We want our
players to be cold heart killers at times and not let the pressure of the
moment get too big for them. However, there are times us as fans love to see
the player unable control their emotions when on cloud nine after a big play.
That’s what Odom can do at times but on an inconsistent basis.
And I guess that is another good word to describe Lamar
Odom, inconsistent. His life has been inconsistent, from the tragic death of
his six month old infant due to SIDS disease, to his helping the Lakers to win
back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010. In fact, it was after the 2nd
championship that Lamar met his wife, Khloe Kardashian. What was it, six days
before they became engaged? I guess that sort of thing is on par with Lamar
Odom’s life. You never know what is going to come next. Odom certainly didn’t
know that the Lakers were going to try to trade him to the New Orleans Hornets.
We all know that’s what comes with the territory. It can be normal life for an
NBA player. But in a radio interview, Odom all but wept on the air for all of
southern California to hear. Even though he was saying other things about being
shocked about the decision and not being told about it up front, let’s read
between the lines. What he was really trying to say is how much he loves the
city of Los Angeles and loves the Lakers organization. He took less money to be
on a winning team. He even sacrificed a starting role and playing time to come
off the bench and do what was best for the team. In the end, I guess it just
wasn’t enough. Lamar Odom has been a great player for the Lakers. He should fit
in very well with his new team, the Dallas Mavericks. Good luck to Lamar and we
look forward to seeing him and Khloe do Dallas on the E! Network. It should be
interesting.
