A year ago at this time, we saw Lamar Odom fighting for his life in a Las Vegas hospital, having come back from the brink of death. Now, he's finalized his divorce from Khloe Kardashian and is back in rehab , having apparently fallen on some hard times again. As we hope that he can finally get back on track, it's worth sadly remembering all the former basketball star has been through. How can one person endure so much, from youth to adulthood? And can we expect things to turn out any differently this time? Read. Think. Discuss. 1. Left All Alone Lamar’s mother died of cancer when he as 12 years old. His father, Joe Odom, was addicted to heroine and scarcely in the picture when Odom was a child. 2. Off-Court Troubles Odom was a high school phenom on the basketball court. However, academic troubles (along with a citation for soliciting prostitution) plagued Odom prior to him transferring from UNLV to the University of Rhode Island. 3. On to the NBA Odom was selected fourth overall in the 1999 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. A couple years later, he was suspended twice in an eight-month span for marijuana use. 4. Goodbye to Grandma In 2003, Odom’s maternal grandmother Mildred, who helped raise him, passed away. 5. An Unspeakable Loss Three years later, Odom’s 6-month-old son, Jayden, died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome while sleeping in his crib. 6. Another Death in the Family In 2011, a 24-year-old cousin to whom Lamar was close was murdered while Odom was in New York to shoot a Nike commercial. View Slideshow
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Lamar Odom: A Timeline of Tragedy, Love, Loss … and Redemption?
