OC Register: Odom nears dubious validation

Mamba · Jun 13, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. – One moment, he was dismissing the sappy, useless sentimental stuff, saying, "You have to put the emotion to the side."

The next moment, Lamar Odom almost was crying.

On the eve of Game 5, the eve of perhaps game over for the Lakers, one of their strongest personalities struggled to overcome something as small as tears.

"There are so many words to describe it," he said of what he might feel should the Lakers win the NBA title tonight. "I'll probably lose it a little bit. It's been a long road, you know."

As he spoke, his eyes glistened.

The personal loses are well documented for Odom, whose father was addicted to heroin and whose mother died of cancer when he was a kid. In recent years, he has buried his infant son and the loving grandmother who raised him.

These are the kinds of trials that shape a person, nothing having more impact on a life than death.

But there is so much more littered along Odom's path. From the multiple high schools to the multiple NCAA investigations to the multiple NBA drug violations.

He survived the Clippers, was part of the first "Dream Team" that embarrassingly failed to win Olympic gold and was eliminated in the Finals last year by a 39-point beatdown.

So there was Odom on Saturday being asked what this championship would mean to Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson. He is a veteran, after all. He has perspective.

Oddly, though, it wasn't until near the end of his almost 30-minute session with the media that someone finally asked Lamar Odom what this championship would mean to Lamar Odom.

"Wow," he said softly. "I'm really trying not to think about that, yet."

With one more Lakers victory, this is Kobe doing it without Shaq, Fisher doing it after being told he was too old and Jackson doing it to pass Red Auerbach.

But how about Odom doing it for the first time, maybe the only time, in a career portrayed — and not incorrectly so — as largely unfulfilled? How about Odom, who never will be as good as he could have been, for once being the undisputed best?

He has been criticized in a manner similar to the way Bryant has been celebrated — almost daily. Odom often has been targeted in this space for failing to realize his potential. We've jeered, mocked and doubted him.

But only as player, not as a person, because Odom is entirely too decent for that.

Unlike so many others, he gets it, genuinely gets it. Odom understands the enormity and blessed fortune of his world. He grasps the absurdity of a $14 million salary as completely as he does the core of his sport at this level, at this point of the season.

"It's called 'basketball,' not 'take the shots' or 'score the most points,'"Odom said. "I've learned patience this year. On this team, you can have eight points, six rebounds and two assists and still have a good game."

So he doesn't obsess over statistics like the rest of us sometimes do, especially when chiding the ultra-talented Odom for posting another uninspired triple-single.

Before this season even began, Odom was placed squarely on his fanny by his own coach, Jackson deciding the Lakers would be better if Odom was sitting at opening-tip time.

In the final year of his contract, Odom understandably was displeased and said so publicly. But asked Saturday how the issue with Jackson was resolved, he said simply, "Friends."

"I told Phil that that was the business side of Lamar Odom," he said. "That's a totally different person than the regular Lamar Odom. We talked for an hour or so in his office, everything was cool after that."

Besides, when he walked into the Lakers locker room, Odom noticed a few encouraging things, things named Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

"I thought, 'I might only get one shot at this, who knows?'" he said. "And look where I'm standing today."

On the eve of Game 5, the eve of perhaps game over.

The last time Odom, 29, won a championship of any kind he was a teenager. It was March 6, 1999, and Odom was playing at the University of Rhode Island.

In the title game of the Atlantic10 Conference Tournament, Odom beat Temple with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

He was sick with the flu at the time, called the title "a dream" and his shot "lucky." At one point, Odom couldn't say anything at all; he was sobbing too much.

His crying reached a point where his coach, Jim Harrick, had to step in to answer questions for him.

It's easy to feel disconnected to these giant paid athletes, who, in the case of someone like the 6-foot-10 Odom, literally live at a different level than the rest of us do.

For example, in the Amway Arena parking lot Saturday, Orlando's Dwight Howard had to carefully navigate his black convertible Rolls-Royce around Courtney Lee's black convertible Bentley.

How many times have we all been in that situation, huh?

But with Odom, a connection is always just one verbal exchange away. Inside, he's a lot like us, just as everyday, just as simple.

"I've had some tremendous things happen in my life," Odom said. "For one, I'm a Laker."

One more victory and he'll be a champion, still not the greatest, but certainly the best.
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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/odom-one-game-2463592-time-lakers

Mamba · Jun 13, 2009

Odom has been huge during this run in the Finals.

One more great game, Odom!

huevonkiller · Jun 14, 2009

I didn't know he went to so many high schools or was investigated, he's been through so much else too. I think the NBA is too harsh on weed and cocaine users; I hope the best for Lamar.

Mamba · Jun 14, 2009

Too hard on cocaine users !? Are you freakin' serious?

huevonkiller · Jun 14, 2009

Black Mamba said: ↑

Too hard on cocaine users !? Are you freakin' serious?
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You mad?

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