Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom’ chronicling how the titular NBA athlete fell from grace after winning back-to-back championships, we get a personal documentary. It features not only the former player himself but also his loved ones as they dive deep into his struggles with drugs and how they adversely impacted both his personal and professional experiences. After all, he nearly passed away in October 2015, when he was found unconscious at a legal brothel, following which he suffered kidney failure, 6 heart attacks, 12 strokes, and had to be placed on life support. He thankfully made a full recovery, but life simply wasn’t the same for him anymore.
Basketball Was Lamar Odom’s Anchor and His Crutch
Born on November 6, 1979, in Queens, New York City, to Cathy Mercer and Joe Odom, Lamar Joseph Odom admittedly grew up in a less-than-idyllic home since his father was an estranged heroin addict. Unfortunately, he also lost his beloved mother to colon cancer at the tender age of 12, so he was subsequently primarily raised by his ever-supportive maternal grandmother, Mildred Mercer. According to his loved ones in the aforementioned original, he had already developed a passion for basketball by this point, but it became his escape as a teenager, as he could spend hours just playing without any worry in the world.
Lamar’s love for the sport only grew over time, driving him to play all four years of high school before joining the University of Rhode Island’s team for the 1998-1999 season. He had initially secured a scholarship to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, but it was revoked after his ACT scores came into question, and it came to light that he had been arrested for soliciting a sex worker. As if that wasn’t enough, it was also discovered that he had received illicit payments from one of its boosters/coaches, which forced him to transfer and sit out the 1997–1998 season. He could have made himself eligible for the NBA draft right after graduation in 1997, considering the national acclaim he had already received, yet he didn’t think he was ready.
It was after Lamar’s freshman year at university that he decided to turn pro, which proved to be a turning point for him, as the Los Angeles Clippers selected him as the fourth overall pick in the 1999 draft. His initial few years with the team proved his mettle, but he was suspended for five games in March 2001 for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, only to be suspended again for the same reason in November. He got two infractions within 8 months, yet spread across 2 seasons, so they ultimately chose to release him the following year. That’s when the Miami Heat came into the picture, but they traded him — alongside two of his teammates — to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 for Shaquille O’Neal. Little did anyone know Lamar would shine there.
Lamar Odom’s Rise and Fall Were Primarily With the Lakers
Although Lamar didn’t have the most consistent couple of years when he first started with the Lakers, it was rather understandable since he had lost his six-and-a-half-month-old Jayden to SIDS in June 2006. His third season, though, he came back with a bang and maintained that momentum almost throughout the ensuing three seasons too, giving the sport his all for a total of 7 seasons from 2004 to 2011. During this period, he helped the Lakers win back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, secured gold with Team USA at the 2010 World Championship, and earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year title in 2011. He even spread his wings by evolving into a reality star after tying the knot with Khloé Kardashian in 2009 — they had their own series, ‘Khloé and Lamar.’
From the outside, it appeared as if Lamar had it all — a great career, a loving wife, and a sound support system. However, per his own account in the aforementioned production, the reality was much different, as he was having affairs and admittedly going on drug benders for days at a time. His relationship with his two children from a previous partner thus also became strained, and he then lost his footing in his career as he was suddenly traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He and Dallas were not a good fit, so he returned to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2012 for a year before becoming a free agent in 2013.
According to records, it was on August 30, 2013, when Lamar was arrested on charges of driving under the influence (DUI) in California, to which he pleaded no contest on December 9. He was consequently sentenced to 3 years of probation and ordered to undergo 3 months of alcohol abuse treatment, only for Khloé to then file for divorce four days later, on December 13. As per reports, the athlete tried to play in the Spanish league in 2014, but it didn’t work out as he had expected, so he returned to the US, and that’s where he had his near-fatal experience in October 2015. He had a great support system that helped in his ensuing recovery before Khloé filed for divorce again in May 2016, and his children held an intervention to help him hopefully kick his bad habits for good.
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Lamar Odom is Now Focusing on Entrepreneurial Endeavors
It was in 2017 when Lamar really opened up to the world about his health issues, cocaine addiction, and recovery, but at every step of the way, he maintained that he was now only looking forward. We’re happy to report that it seems he has since not only managed to reconnect with his now-adult children but also get back on his own two feet as a rising entrepreneur dabbling in various sectors. He owns a film-music production company called Rich Soil Entertainment and a cannabis-based company named Rich Soil Organics that offers products for pain management. The idea for the latter stemmed from a combination of his 2015 ordeal and his original 2009 Rich Soil clothing line and cannabis brand.
Lamar also once owned and operated a senior living facility called Odom Senior Care, but he sold it to ZNest in 2023 and then became the latter organization’s Executive Creative Officer. He has since even gotten into coaching, motivational speaking, fashion, cryptocurrency, water, and health & wellness through various avenues. As per his own accounts, he hopes to evolve into a high school basketball coach one day soon, through which he wants to climb the ladder, become a college coach, and simultaneously return to classes to earn his Bachelor’s degree.
As for Lamar’s other endeavors, he now has his own cryptocurrency memecoin, $ODOM, is the brains behind the sustainable bottled water company Meta H2O, and has recently established an AI-powered health & wellness website called HealLO. Moreover, in November 2025, he spread his wings and became a fashion designer, debuting his own line, Le Saint Noir, at Art Hearts Fashion during New York Fashion Week. It’s imperative to note that Lamar was arrested again for allegedly driving under the influence and two other traffic violations in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 17, 2026, but he has since made bail. According to his recent interviews, he is now getting help at iRely Recovery and is determined to turn over a new leaf.
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