Lamar Odom Returning to Basketball: 'God Is Good'
Lamar Odom is set to make his return to professional basketball soon, and he credits God for being granted this new opportunity.
Odom broke the news of his return to playing pro ball in a recent Instagram post.
"My heart literally warms up now I can finally share with you all that I'm returning to play Basketball. I will be playing in China ! God is good ! Thanks lord for giving me another chance in life and thank you fans for your the love and support during all those hard years."
Odom has yet to reveal which team he will play for and when he will next take part in a pro basketball game.
He added, "Never give up on yourself and keep believing that only God can create the miracles you're hoping for."
The 38-year-old also said that basketball and his children — Lamar Jr. and Destiny — have always been the light in his life and that is where is focus is now.
Odom also called fellow former NBA player Stephon Marbury his "inspiration." Marbury played in the NBA from 1996 to 2009. He signed with the Shanxi Brave Dragons in 2010 and went on to play for other teams in China. He retired from playing pro basketball earlier this year.
For Odom, this latest move comes in the wake of a tumultuous past few years.
As noted in a report from CBS Sports, Odom has dealt with drug addiction in the past. In October 2015, he was found unconscious at the Love Ranch in Nevada and he was taken to a hospital and placed on life support.
Odom recalled what it was like waking up in a hospital in Nevada after the incident in a piece for The Players' Tribune. He remembered hearing a doctor telling him that it was a "miracle" he was still alive after what he went through.
He recounted the low points in his life while also revisiting the tragic memories of his mother and his son Jayden's untimely deaths. He further admitted that even at the time of writing that 2017 piece that he wanted to do drugs again, saying that staying sober is "an everyday struggle."
However, he also acknowledged that if he wants to continue being around for his children, then he must resist the temptations that drove him down some dark roads previously in his life.
Odom played 14 years in the NBA and won two titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also took home the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2011.
