Longtime NBA forward Lamar Odom announced today on Instagram that he’ll be returning to court this season. According to Odom, he’ll play for a team in China.
Odom’s announcement is short on specific details, so it remains to be seen which team he’ll play for, or even which league he’ll be in — the top clubs in China complete in the Chinese Basketball Association, while the National Basketball League is the country’s second-tier league.
Regardless, it would be great to see Odom continue his professional career in any league and with any team after he battled off-court issues – including entering rehab for substance abuse – for several years following his last stint in the NBA.
Odom, 38, entered the NBA in 1999 and spent time with the Clippers, Heat, Lakers, and Mavericks over the course of 14 seasons. He won two NBA championships with the Lakers and was named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2011, but hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since 2013.
Speaking last summer to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, Odom gave no indication that he would attempt an NBA comeback, but didn’t close the door on playing in another league, such as the BIG3. It sounds like he’ll get that opportunity in China this season.
What a shame of a career, I remember him in his rookie year, wow… I thought he could be a truly great player, but unfortunately he let all that talent go to waste, a real pity. Hope he can find inner peace & happiness.
The Lakers must not have realized he was available
Leave your stash at home, Lamar. They don’t have rehab there quite like we do, they just call it jail.
I forgot this guy was traded for Shaq. Overrated player