Lamar Odom appears to be heading to full health recovery and he seems to be back to his old sober self when he dined with three friends from the NBA at the Los Angeles’ The Lobster on January 14.
The 37-year-old former NBA star was joined for dinner by Luke Walton, who used to be the assistant coach of Steve Kerr with the Golden State Warriors and is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, former Lakers assistant coach and former Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw, and retired NBA star Kenyon Dooling, details Page Six.
Walton and Odom were with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2004 to 2011 where they won two championships with Kobe Bryant. Brian Shaw was an assistant coach of the same Lakers team from 2005 to 2011.
Early in his career, Lamar Odom also played alongside Kenyon Dooling for several seasons, from 2000 to 2003, as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. Dooling last played for the Miami Heat before retiring.
A photo of the dinner was actually shared by Lamar Odom on his Instagram account and he captioned his post with ‘A brotherhood that goes beyond basketball.’
The business side of things
While the dinner appeared to be friendly, it may have been a business meeting too. According to reports, Odom has expressed interest in nabbing a position with the Los Angeles Lakers organization.
Walton was quoted as saying that Lamar Odom would be a great addition because anyone who knows the former NBA star, when he is right and of healthy mind and body, is one of the most likable people around.
The Lakers head coach added that Lamar Odom has also a great knowledge of the game and has a great way of communicating with people.
It is not clear if Walton would vouch for Odom in the Lakers organization but based on his statements, it seems that he would and it would be interesting if the Lakers management also sees the same for their former player.
But reports have it that there are no plans for Odom to come on board as part of Walton’s staff, reports the Daily Mail of UK.
Good to be sober
Odom has spent almost four weeks at a rehab facility in San Diego California recently. He said that it is kind of new but it is good to be sober in back-to-back episodes of “The Doctors.”
He also disclosed that he wants his former wife Khloe Kardashian back in his life but it seems unlikely to happen because their divorce has already been finalized late last year.
That’s in addition to the fact that the reality star is now seeing the Cleveland Cavalier’s Tristan Thompson, months after dating Houston Rockets’ superstar James Harden.
Odom’s treatment in a rehab facility came after his divorce from Khloe Kardashian was made official on December 11.
The reality star stuck by her ex-husband after their initial divorce filing in 2013, through his near-death from a drug overdose in October 2015 and many subsequent relapses, but now the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star has moved on to a new relationship.
As a member of the Lakers team, Lamar Odom won two NBA championships in 2009 and 2010 and was also named as the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011.
During his high school, Lamar Odom received national player of the year honors from Parade in 1997. He played college basketball at the University of Rhode Island, earning all-conference honors in his only season in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
He was subsequently drafted in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft with the fourth overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers.
He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team, but twice he violated the league’s drug policy in his four seasons with the Clippers.