The last time we saw former NBA player Lamar Odom was early in the NCAA tournament as he cheered on his Rhode Island Rams. This was the team’s first appearance in the tournament since Odom was playing for them in 1999.
Lamar Odom credits his daughter for helping him get over drug addiction
Odom completed a rehab stay in January.
Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
For Odom, this was a rare public appearance since he was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel two years ago. Odom revealed that he suffered 12 strokes and two heart attacks as a result of cocaine use.
Odom recently opened up to Us Weekly about the least few years and his rehabilitation. He notes that his drug use began in 2011 and recalls his wife Khloe Kardashian catching him doing it. His career came to a close around the same time Kardashian filed for divorce, exacerbating his drug habit. Ever since, Odom has seldom been seen in public.
The two-time NBA champion said that his daughter was the reason he decided to reenter rehab, which he completed earlier this year:
My daughter gave me the ultimatum to go. She said, “Pops, you get help or I won’t talk to you.” I think she saw it in my behavior. Coke is a real psychological drug. You can be getting high and feeling great and then on the way down cursing yourself out
Luckily, Odom is now clean and he can now spend his post-NBA life with family and loved ones.
