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In a new Netflix documentary called “Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom”, former Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom opened up about his battle with drug addition and the coma that hospitalized him in 2015.
Multiple people connected to Odom at that time, including his now ex-wife Khloe Kardashian, spoke about the events leading up to when Odom was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel.
Kardashian said in the documentary that she had to decide whether Odom would undergo a high-risk emergency surgery to repair his collapsed lungs. Doctors told Kardashian the surgery had approximately a 10% chance of working and could result in Odom’s death.
Kardashian revealed that one of Odom’s former Lakers teammates, Kobe Bryant, helped her ultimately decide to send Odom into the operation.
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Nov 2, 2010; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers players (from left) Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Steve Blake, and Ron Artest watch on the bench in the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Staples Center. The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 124-105. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Bryant’s Connection With Odom
Bryant spent his entire career with the Lakers from 1996-2016. Odom played the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Los Angeles Clippers after the franchise drafted him with the No. 4 pick in 1999.
The pair became teammates during the 2004-05 season when the Lakers acquired Odom in a trade for Shaquille O’Neal with the Miami Heat. Odom went on to play seven seasons with Bryant and the Lakers, winning back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.
The Lakers traded Odom to the Dallas Mavericks in December 2011, which was a move Kardashian and Odom said significantly impacted Odom’s struggle with substance abuse.
After his time with the Lakers, Odom maintained a strong relationship with Bryant. He attended the Hall of Famer’s final career game in April 2016 after recovering from his near fatal overdose in 2015.
Odom recently opened up about how Bryant’s death in 2020 affected him.
“When he passed away, I thought the world, whichever way it’s spinning now, I thought it started spinning the opposite way when he passed away. His loss was so impactful,” Odom said in an interview with Lakers on SI’s Ryan Ward. “When I came back to LA for his funeral, the air was thin. It felt like a gut punch.”
Odom continues to battle substance abuse and was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Las Vegas in January. However, Odom has reportedly been sober since Jan. 28.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
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