4 Things You Might Not Know About Lamar Odom
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Lamar Odom was found unconscious at a Las Vegas brothel last week, and since then, numerous reports of his condition have developed. While Lamar may have been thrust into the spotlight when he married Khloé Kardashian in 2009, the 35-year-old athlete built a storied career as a professional basketball player even before he became connected to the reality TV star and her famous family. As reports about his recovery continue to come in, here are four things you may not have known about Lamar Odom.
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He had a tumultuous upbringing.
Lamar was born in Queens, NY, on Nov. 6, 1979. His father, Joe, was a heroin addict, and his mother died of colon cancer when he was 12 years old. He was raised by his grandmother, Mildred, who passed away in 2004.
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He's played basketball since high school and is a two-time NBA champion.
Lamar began playing basketball for Christ the King Regional High School in Queens. He played for three years before shuttling between two more teams, first to Redemption Christian Academy and then to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Connecticut. He later went on to attend the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and the University of Rhode Island.
In 1999, Lamar began his NBA career after being drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers. He went on to play for the Miami Heat, LA Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks and returned to the Clippers in 2012. He became a free agent the following year and signed with Laboral Kutxa of the Spanish ACB League, but was only able to play two games before being injured. Lamar moved back to the States, signing with the New York Knicks in February 2014 — but he was released just six months later.
Despite the bumps in his career, Lamar has won two NBA championships with the Lakers and helped the US national team win a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.
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He and Khloé Kardashian had a whirlwind courtship, but she wasn't into him at first.
Khloé and Lamar met at a party for his then-teammate Ron Artest in August 2009. Khloé later told Ryan Seacrest that she "did not like" Lamar at first, saying, "I hated him. [I was like] 'Ugh you’re a basketball player, you’re typical, you’re annoying." She changed her mind about him and they began dating — and after just five weeks, Lamar proposed with a 9 carat diamond ring. They tied the knot in a lavish ceremony just six days later, and while they both signed divorce papers in July 2015, they are still legally married.
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He's a father of three, but lost one of his sons.
Lamar has two children, 17-year-old Destiny and 13-year-old Lamar Jr., with his ex-girlfriend Liza Morales. Sadly, their son Jayden died in his sleep from SIDS in 2006, when he was just 6 months old. Lamar and Liza dated for 10 years and broke up in 2008, not long before he met and married Khloé Kardashian.