Gilbert Arenas opens up on Kobe Bryant’s former LA Lakers teammate Lamar Odom

Former LA Lakers standout Lamar Odom struggled with addiction throughout his life. Most infamously, of course, Odom overdosed at a brothel in 2015, resulting in the two-time NBA champ nearly dying. The moment served as a turning point in the life of the former Lakers standout, as he learned how to walk again before becoming an inspiration to others through sobriety.

After attempting a stint with the Chinese Basketball Association, he joined Philippine club Mighty Sports. The hope was that through the Dubai International Basketball Tournament, which Mighty Sports was set to participate in, Odom could work his way back into playing shape.

That led to Lamar Odom joining Ice Cube’s Big3 league, where he was named co-captain of the Enemies team. There, he briefly joined a roster with Gilbert Arenas, which the NBA vet recalled during a recent interview with DJ Vlad.

As Arenas explained, he and the rest of his Enemies teammates quickly were left speechless by the Lakers vet.

“I missed the first game right ‘m in the big three I’m the captain and he’s one of the co- captains and I said ‘Yo how did the first game go? How Lamar look?’ and they said “yo while we’re taking a shower the dude is watching porn just taking a shower just watching it … and I was like ‘Yo he’s wild’.”

Looking at Kobe Bryant’s impact on Lamar Odom as former Lakers standout pursued sobriety

Lamar Odom’s NBA career largely coincided with Kobe Bryant’s in the NBA and on the LA Lakers. The two played alongside one another for most of Odom’s career, forming a close friendship that extended off the court.

The pair first played together from 1999-2003, at which point Odom joined the Miami Heat for the 2003-04 season. After a year in Miami, Odom returned to the LA Lakers, playing alongside Bryant from 2004-2011.

Odom retired after the 2012-13 season and went through his share of struggles off the court before finally landing in Ice Cube’s Big3 league. Although he was named the co-captain of the Enemies squad, he struggled in his first game with the team before being deactivated for the remainder of the season.

Since then, Odom has focused on his sobriety and has reportedly found his purpose in owning rehab centers. In April 2023, Odom indicated in an interview with TMZ that he and two other individuals acquired rehab facilities in California to help others get sober.

The journey to sobriety was partly aided by Kobe Bryant, who helped Odom get out of a six-figure gambling debt. While many fans are aware of Odom’s substance abuse problems, the two-time NBA champ also had a bad gambling problem.

According to Odom, who spoke on the Bootleg Kev Podcast in 2022, Bryant helped him climb out of a financial hole as a result of his gambling addiction.

As the story goes, Odom was in debt and didn’t know who to turn to for help. In an act of desperation, he called Kobe Bryant, who cursed him out before then telling Odom to have his people call Bryant’s team so that he could help his former teammate out.

Now, with Odom in control of his addictions, he’s able to use his new rehab centers to help others on their journey, much like Kobe helped him on his journey.