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Lamar Odom

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Lamar Odom
No. 7 – Los Angeles Lakers
PositionForward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1979-11-06) November 6, 1979 (age 45)
South Jamaica, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
CollegeRhode Island
NBA draft1999: 4th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career1999–present
Career highlights and awards
All-Rookie First Team (2000)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Template:MedalTopPic

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#eeeeee;color:inherit;" | Men's Basketball

|- ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;background-color:#eeeeee;color:inherit;" class="adr" | Representing  United States

|- | style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;color:inherit;" | Bronze medal – third place|| style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;" | 2004 Athens || style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;" | National team |}

Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6 1979, in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American professional basketball player who currently starts at power forward for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1997, Odom was the #1 ranked High School All-American in the US, and had earned a good reputation among basketball scouts for his excellent ball-handling and passing ability despite his size (6 foot 10 inches (208 cm)). Odom is also one of the few players who can also play any of the 5 positions of the NBA. He can dribble the ball up the court in traffic and make quick decisions like a point guard, shoot long distance and carry a team with drives and quick cuts like a shooting guard, inbound, passes from long distance and shoot threes like a small forward, can hit the small jumper from 15 feet like a power forward and can post up and dunk like a center. In addition, his length has allowed him to become a proficient shotblocker of late, establishing him as one of the Lakers' premier defenders.

Basketball career

High school

In his first three years of high school he played for Christ The King RHS in Middle Village, New York. For his senior year he transferred first to Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, New York for the basketball season and then to St. Thomas Aquinas Prep in New Britain, Connecticut.[1][2] Odom was named the Parade Magazine Player of the Year in 1997. He was named to the USA Today All-USA 1st Team as a senior.

College

In 1997, Odom attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and was enrolled in summer classes. Following an academic scandal, an NCAA inquiry found Odom received payments amounting to $5,600 from booster David Chapman.[3] Coach Bill Bayno was fired and UNLV was placed on probation for four years. Odom transferred to the University of Rhode Island, but had to sit out the 1997-98 season.

Odom played one season at Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 Conference, where he scored 17.6 points per game and led the Rams to the conference championship in 1999. His three-pointer against Temple at the buzzer[2] gave the Rams their first A-10 Tournament title.

Los Angeles Clippers

Odom declared his eligibility for the 1999 NBA Draft after his freshman year at the University of Rhode Island in 1999. The 6 foot 10 inch forward was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fourth overall pick.[4] In his first season with the Clippers, Odom averaged 16.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game and was named to the 2000 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Odom was involved in controversy in November of 2001 when he was suspended for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy for the second time in eight months.[5] It is generally accepted that Odom's suspension was for use of marijuana, which is not subject to the NBA's harsher "Drugs of Abuse" rules. At the time, he tearfully owned up to smoking marijuana.[5]

Miami Heat

He had a very notable season with the Miami Heat in which they made the playoffs after struggling all year with promising rookie Dwyane Wade. He had a very solid season compared to his sub-par season with the Clippers the previous year. After the season Odom was traded in a package with Caron Butler and Brian Grant for All Star Shaquille O'Neal.

Los Angeles Lakers

In his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Odom and superstar Kobe Bryant never established the chemistry analysts might have expected the two dynamic players to build. The Lakers finished out of the playoffs for only the 4th time in franchise history.

Following the disappointment of missing the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers hired former coach Phil Jackson in the 2005 offseason, in the hope that he could mold Odom into a Scottie Pippen-type player to run his triangle offense as a point forward, by which he meant a forward who could handle the ball and bring the ball forward, as Pippen was able to. In the first half of the 2005-06 NBA season, Odom displayed inconsistency while playing with the Lakers. However, as Los Angeles progressed towards the NBA playoffs, Odom played very well in preparing the Lakers for the playoffs. Along the way, he posted consecutive triple-doubles for the first time as a Laker against the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers.

After young center Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury during the 2007-2008 NBA season and Pau Gasol was acquired by the Lakers midseason, Odom put together the finest performance in his career, averaging 15.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists per game since Gasol's trade.[6] Odom finished the season with 14.2 ppg 10.6 rpg and 3.5 apg.[7]

Olympics

Odom played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for the US national team, averaging 5.8 ppg en route to a bronze medal. He has earned 14 caps in total for the USA squad. He was invited to play for the FIBA World Championships for 2006 and 2007 but did not go though because of the death of his son. Lamar Odom is also known for his relatively long free throw routine

Personal life

Odom, his longtime companion Liza Morales, their 8-year-old daughter, Destiny, and 5-year-old son, Lamar Jr., live in New York.[5]

On June 29 2006 Odom's 6½-month-old infant son Jayden died from suffocation while sleeping in his crib in New York.[4][8] He died on the same day as Odom's grandmother.[4]

Odom also has his own music and film production company, Rich Soil Entertainment.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ ODOM IS ON RIGHT RHODE TO SUCCESS
  2. ^ a b 1999 NBA Draft Tracker: Lamar Odom, ESPN.COM
  3. ^ NCAA reveals inquiry of UNLV
  4. ^ a b c Lakers' Odom still mourning sudden death of infant son
  5. ^ a b c d Odom seeks reason to smile
  6. ^ http://www.latimes.com/la-sp-elliott23apr23,1,6066980.column
  7. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/lamar_odom/career_stats.html
  8. ^ Lamar Odom's Son Dies While Sleeping
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