Lamar Odom
[edit] BiographyLamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979 in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American basketball player who currently plays small forward (both of the forward spots, also plays the offense "initiator" who brings the ball forward) for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers. In 1997, Odom was the #1 ranked High School All-American in the United States, and had earned a good reputation among basketball scouts for his excellent ball-handling and passing ability despite his size (6 ft 10 in (208 cm)). [edit] Basketball career[edit] High schoolOdom attended Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, NY until he was kicked out after his junior year.Template:Fact [edit] CollegeOdom played one season at the University of Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 Conference, where he scored 17.6 points per game and led the Rams to the conference championship and 1998 NCAA tournament Sweet 16. [edit] Los Angeles ClippersOdom declared his eligibility for the NBA Draft after his freshman year at the University of Rhode Island in 1999 and was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fourth pick. In his first season with the Clippers, Odom averaged 16.6 points, 4.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds 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. [edit] Miami HeatOdom spent four seasons with the Clippers before signing a six-year, US $65 million contract with the Miami Heat. Odom averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 assists and 9.7 rebounds during the 2003-04 season, helping the Heat to a playoff berth. [edit] Los Angeles LakersIn the 2004 offseason, he was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a trade that brought center Shaquille O'Neal to Miami. In his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Odom and Kobe Bryant, Bryant being a top 5 NBA talent in 2004, never established the chemistry analysts might have expected the two dynamic players might to build. The Lakers finished out of the playoffs for only the 4th time in franchise history. [edit] Point forward for the LakersFollowing 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, who can play both point guard, power forward, and the offense initiator who brings the ball forward. 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 stepped his game up and became a much more efficient and capable complement to Bryant in the second. He posted consecutive triple-doubles for the first time as a Laker against the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers. Odom was arguably the best player on the floor in the Lakers' first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 19.1 ppg 11.0 rpg and 4.9 apg in 7 games while playing strong defense against Shawn Marion. [edit] InternationalOdom played in the 2004 Athens Olympics for the United States National Basketball Team, averaging 5.8 ppg en route to a bronze medal. He has earned 14 caps in total for the senior team. Template:MedalTop Template:MedalSport Template:MedalBronze Template:MedalBottom [edit] Trivia
[edit] Personal lifeOn June 28, 2006 Odom's 6½-month-old infant son Jayden died from suffocation while sleeping in his crib in New York [1] [2]. Odom was held at gun point and robbed while walking at night near a family member's home in his Queens, New York neighborhood in the summer of 2006. The teenage mugger, who fired a warning shot first, took Odom's watch and cash, a combined total of under $5,000. [edit] Statistics<stats> Player=Lamar Odom Columns=Year,G,PPG,RPG,APG Sport=NBA </stats> [edit] Video Gallery
[edit] References[edit] Related Articles[edit] Recent Lamar Odom ArmchairGM Stories
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