Lamar Odom Biography

Lamar Odom was born on November 6, 1979, in South Jamaica, a residential neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City, USA, to Joe Odom and Cathy Mercer. He grew up in his maternal grandmother Mildred Mercer’s household as his mother passed away due to colon cancer when he was 12. His father was a heroin addict.

Odom was transferred from one school to another because of his poor grades. He studied at ‘Christ The King Regional High School’ in Middle Village, Queens, and ‘Redemption Christian Academy’ in Troy, before attending the now-defunct ‘St. Thomas Aquinas High School’ in New Britain, Connecticut.

After realizing that he was not yet ready to make himself available for the NBA draft, he enrolled at the ‘University of Nevada’ in Las Vegas. The university released him in July 1997, amid several controversies, including charges of soliciting prostitutes.

He began to attend the ‘University of Rhode Island’ in the same year, but didn’t play any game for two semesters and a summer session. He then heralded the Rams’ successful ‘A-10 Tournament’ campaign, averaging 17.6 points per game.

Lamar Odom was chosen by ‘Los Angeles Clippers’ in the 1999 NBA Draft as their fourth overall pick. While he did have a successful stint with the team, he was suspended two times for violating NBA’s drug policy. On the second occasion, he admitted to using marijuana. He was a restricted free agent in 2003 until ‘Miami Heat’ made an offer.

He played the 2003-04 season for the ‘Miami Heat’ as a starting forward. He averaged 13.1 points per game with 9.7 points on rebounds in the Heat’s 4th seed finish in the playoffs. Odom, along with Caron Butler and Brian Grant, was traded to the ‘Los Angeles Lakers’ for Shaquille O'Neal at the end of the season.

Although he suffered a left soldier injury at the end of his first season with the Lakers, he had an impressive average of 15.2 points per game. He showed consistency in the following three seasons, including posting consecutive triple doubles against the ‘Golden State Warriors’ and ‘Portland Trail Blazers’ in April 2006. He also played an important role in helping the Lakers reach the 2008 NBA Finals.

He was benched for the most part of the 2008-09 season as he attended the pre-season training camp out of shape. Despite the initial misgivings, he embraced his new role as Lakers’ sixth man. After the season, he refused an offer from Miami and remained with the Lakers.

The back-to-back seasons of 2008-09 and 2009-10 proved to be the best ones in his career. He was instrumental in the Lakers’ consecutive NBA championship wins, averaging 11.3 and 10.8 points per game in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons respectively. He remained with the Lakers for one more season before being traded to the ‘Dallas Mavericks.’

Odom’s experience with the Mavericks was less than positive. He returned to play for the Clippers for the 2012-13 season but averaged a meagre 4.0 points per game. In 2014, he played two games for the ‘Spanish League’ team ‘Laboral Kutxa Baskonia,’ which were to be his last games in his professional career. He did sign with the ‘New York Knicks’ after coming back to the US but did not appear in any games for them.

He joined the Philippine club ‘Mighty Sports’ in December 2018. ‘Mighty Sports’ plays in several domestic leagues and tournaments.

He had represented his country at the 2004 ‘Summer Olympics’ and 2010 ‘FIBA World Championships,’ winning bronze and gold medals respectively.

Odom had also appeared regularly in E!’s reality TV show ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians.’ He and his then-wife Khloé also appeared in their own show titled ‘Khloé & Lamar,’ which premiered on April 10, 2011. It was taken off air after two seasons. Odom said that constant filming had worn him down.

The ‘Parade’ magazine named Lamar Odom the ‘Player of the Year’ in 1997 for his stellar performance for the ‘St. Thomas Aquinas High School.’ He was also named All-American twice by ‘Parade,’ in 1996 and 1997.

In 1999, he was hailed as the ‘Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year’ and was part of the Conference’s first team.

He was one of the members of the ‘NBA All-Rookie First Team’ in 2000.

He was honored with the ‘NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award’ for the 2010-11 season.

Lamar Odom met fashion designer Liza Morales when they were both in high school. They dated while attending college and throughout the first phase of his career in the NBA before breaking up in 2007. They have two children together, a daughter named Destiny (born 1998) and a son named Lamar Jr. (born 2002). Their third child Jayden (born 2005) died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) when he was six-and-a-half months old.

He was arrested on August 30, 2013, for driving under the influence (DUI). He pleaded no contest to the charges, receiving 36 months of probation and three months of alcohol abuse treatment. He was also asked to cough up $1,814. There were also rumors of drug abuse, but Odom vehemently denied them.

After a month-long courtship, Odom married Khloe Kardashian on September 27, 2009, at a private residence in Beverly Hills. She filed for divorce and the restoration of her last name on December 13, 2013. The related papers were signed by July 2015.

Before the divorce was to be finalized, Odom was found unconscious in a brothel named ‘Love Ranch’ in Crystal, Nevada, and was taken to a hospital. He was in a coma and was put on life support. Kardashian halted the divorce proceedings and stayed with her estranged husband until he fully recovered. She filed for divorce again on May 26, 2016, which was finalized on December 17, 2016.

Lamar Odom is an avid collector of sneakers and has a vast collection of rare and limited edition shoes.

Odom is known for his love of candy, particularly Sour Patch Kids, and often keeps a stash of them with him wherever he goes.

He is skilled at playing the saxophone and has surprised fans with impromptu performances in the past.

Odom has a deep passion for cooking and is known to experiment with new recipes in the kitchen.

He is a dedicated animal lover and has been involved in various animal welfare causes throughout his career.