How Lamar Odom came to the EuroLeague to fall in love again
Europe has seen a plethora of former American NBA players trying to revive their careers on the Old Continent or simply find enjoyment in playing basketball again.
Most NBA players who journey across the Atlantic are never stars in the league, but being a fringe or rotation player in the world’s strongest league is far from shabby.
However, there are some notable exceptions. In the 1980s and early 1990s, European fans were dazzled by two-time NBA champion Bob McAdoo, who shined for Italian clubs and won two EuroLeague titles.
In the 1990s, the 1986 NBA scoring champion Dominique Wilkins led Panathinaikos Athens to their first EuroLeague championship before signing with Fortitudo Bologna after a season with the San Antonio Spurs.
The 21st century has blessed Europeans with Allen Iverson and Deron Williams, for example. The latter was in his prime when he played a few games for Turkish outfit Besiktas during the 2011 NBA lockout.
While Williams came to Europe to play ball, earn a lot, and pass some time, Lamar Odom had a completely different objective: by February 2014, he had fallen out of love with basketball.
The Basque city Vitoria and its club Baskonia were supposed to change that. Odom saw it as the perfect place to regain his feelings towards the game.
The awful months of 2013
The forward had a stellar career in the NBA. Odom was selected as the fourth pick of the 1999 draft, won two rings with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was voted the sixth man of the year in 2011—the first Laker to do so.
Yet not all was well. After the historic season, Odom contemplated taking a break from basketball after a close cousin of his was murdered, and he was a passenger in an SUV involved in an accident that killed a teenage cyclist.
Fortunately or not, the lockout gave Odom some much-needed downtime. He decided not to sit out the season, and once the new collective bargaining agreement was signed, the Olympic bronze medalist from 2004 and world champion from 2010 was traded to the defending champions, the Dallas Mavericks.
Odom’s time in Texas was plain awful. He struggled on and off the court and had rows with head coach Rick Carlisle and team owner Mark Cuban.
Returning to Los Angeles – to play for the Clippers, not the Lakers – for the 2012-13 season didn’t improve his fortunes. Odom started the season out of shape and had a second consecutive lackluster season.
The second part of 2013 was close to breaking Odom. He became a free agent in July but couldn’t land an NBA contract. He was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, and his wife, Khloé Kardashian, filed for divorce.
Gasol helped Odom
To seek solace, Odom turned his attention to Europe. Baskonia signed him for two months, and the former star said he was in Spain to play basketball and start a new life. “This is the most important thing for me now,” he said in his first press conference.
From Baskonia’s point of view, signing Odom was a no-brainer. The forward was a commercially valuable asset, and although 34 years old, he had plenty of basketball in him when he could get in shape. Besides, a short-term contract meant the club didn’t risk much. A friend of Odom and Baskonia’s then-head coach, Sergio Scariolo—the Spanish legend Pau Gasol—facilitated the signing.
Adding Odom to the roster was big news in European basketball circles, but it quickly fizzled out. He played just two games for Baskonia, one apiece in the Spanish ACB and the EuroLeague. His European career ended with just two points to his name.
This year, Odom told El Correo newspaper how he felt he had something left in the tank. He might have still had gas, but his body didn’t, as the player was slowed down by a back injury.
Although Odom failed to play his best, he did show glimpses of greatness in practice. His teammate at the time, former NBA player Andres Nocioni, noted that the American was very up and down in his workouts—one day, he was spectacular, but the next day, his back hurt.
Odom’s injury meant that his contract with Baskonia ended in March, less than a month after putting pen to paper. The player returned to his hometown, New York, to get a second opinion from the doctors and vowed the journey was not over. He would try his best to get back to the court and give the people of Vitoria a show.
Baskonia fans never saw him again.
In hindsight, Odom’s disappointing time in Europe was far from a surprise. He arrived in Spain out of shape and last played a game in May 2013. He might have said all the right things when presented in Vitoria, but it’s clear that Odom’s personal problems also didn’t help his case.
Still, thanks to six minutes and ten seconds against Spanish side Unicaja Malaga in February 2014, Odom is one of the most high-profile NBA players to have played in the EuroLeague.
After leaving Baskonia and getting his back better, the New York Knicks offered Odom a way back to the NBA. However, he didn’t play a single second and was waived in July.
Thus, Odom played his final professional game on March 2, 2014, when he scored two points against Valencia in the ACB.
