Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom revealed that he was gifted back his two NBA championship rings after he had pawned them off to pay for medical bills.
Odom, 42, won titles with the Lakers in the 2008-09 season against the Orlando Magic and 2009-10 campaign against the Boston Celtics.
The former Sixth Man of the Year said on his podcast On The LO that he ran into the fan that bought his rings at a Lakers game on Oct. 20, and the fan told him he should have the rings back since he earned them in his playing career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJvsgbweL7c
“He was like, ‘Yo I have your rings,’” Odom said.
Odom revealed that he was embarrassed since he had to sell his rings to pay for medical bills incurred when he was in a coma after nearly dying from a drug overdose back in 2015. Odom then revealed the fan’s generous gesture to return the ring back to him.
“He was like, ‘Yo, just come pick them up,’” Odom said. “I pulled up on him, and he gave me my s— back for nothing.”
It’s an incredible gesture by the fan to give Odom back a piece of his career that he will likely cherish forever. Odom’s rings sold for $36,600 and $78,000, respectively back in 2016.
For the fan to not ask for anything in return from the former Lakers big man is really special.
Odom played seven seasons with the Lakers, and he quickly became one of the team’s most important players in their championship runs with Kobe Bryant. In seven seasons with Los Angeles, Odom averaged 13.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 33.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Odom won the Sixth Man of the Year award in his final season with the Lakers before moving on to play with the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers in the next two seasons.
While Bryant and Pau Gasol were the driving forces for the Lakers’ two title runs with Odom on the roster, there is no doubt that he had a major impact on the team. Now that Odom has his championship rings back, hopefully he can close the chapter on the dark moment of his life that led to his drug overdose and continue to move forward.
