Lamar Odom Says He's Sober, Opens Up About Khloe Kardashian Marriage, More
In an interview with Ian Drew of Us Magazine, former NBA player Lamar Odom spoke about getting sober and his marriage with ex-wife Khloe Kardashian, among other topics.
"Living sober, meaning no drugs, is a great feeling," he said. "Being in the moment is important—how you react, respond, create. If I would have done coke last night, you would have gotten some d---head here trying to get out of here fast. But you’re getting Lamar now."
He credited his daughter with helping him to get sober:
"My daughter gave me the ultimatum to go. She said, "Pops, you get help or I won’t talk to you." I think she saw it in my behavior. Coke is a real psychological drug. You can be getting high and feeling great and then on the way down cursing yourself out. So I think it was one of those moments on the way down. This last time I checked into rehab, I was able to stay the whole 30 days and get the most out of it. I learned about addiction and that it’s a brain disease. The choices we make when our brain is diseased are involuntary. So it was important and life-changing.
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Odom said that once Kardashian discovered his use of cocaine in 2011, she didn't accept it but rather "tolerated" it. He also acknowledged that he regretted sleeping with other women while the pair were married before Kardashian filed for divorce in 2013.
He moved into an apartment with his friend, Jamie Sangouthai, and he said his drug use ramped up from there.
"I was in a very dark place and very confrontational," he noted. "I wasn’t trying to repair my marriage; I was just trying to get high. My life was all about drugs at that point. It probably helped the end of my career come along a little faster because drugs killed my drive to want to train and be in shape."
Odom last played in the NBA during the 2012-13 season with the Los Angeles Clippers, making 82 appearances and averaging 4.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game.
He was found unconscious at a legal Nevada brothel in Oct. 2015 and fell into a coma. He spent four months in a Los Angeles medical facility recovering from the incident.
Odom said Kardashian was a consistent presence in his recovery.
"She was the first thing I saw. She said, "Hi, Mookah." "Mookah" is a name my mother used to call me. She said it to let me know I wasn’t dead. She played a major role in me getting my memory back. She would bring pictures of my mother and my grandmother. I kept thinking, Am I paralyzed forever? Am I mute forever? It was scary sh--. Faith got me through.
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Odom played 14 seasons in the NBA, spending time with the Clippers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
