The BIG3 basketball league surprised many with a news announcement on Wednesday saying that numerous player and staff changes were being made, including the deactivation of several big-name players. The players being deactivated include former NBA players Lamar Odom, Baron Davis, Bonzi Wells and Jermaine O’Neal.
According to the media release, the changes “are being implemented to maximize competition, protect the health of players, and to raise the level of professionalism of the BIG3.”
Davis is listed as a co-captain for 3’s Company, which is 0-3 on the season. He has not registered any stats and said in a statement on his Twitter account that he decided to no longer participate in the league.
Davis also said his choice was not related to injury/health.
Odom was listed as a co-captain for the 2-1 Enemies but had only recorded 2 points, 4 rebounds and an assist on the season.
Neither Wells nor O’Neal had played in a game.
All four players have dealt with health issues or played sparingly according to BIG3 podcast The Fourth Man.
The league also announced that Big Baby Davis would avoid suspension for his ejection on Sunday.
It has been more than three years since Lamar Odom nearly lost his life following a drug binge at a brothel in Nevada, and the former NBA star has spoken openly about his struggles with addiction. While he is back to playing basketball and in good physical shape, Odom’s mind is not nearly as sharp as it once was.
In an interview with Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times, Odom spoke honestly about the trouble he has remembering things.
“My memory is really bad,” he said. “I can’t remember anything. My short-term memory is really bad. … I wish I could explain it but I can’t.”
Odom admitted he needs to work with doctors to figure out if there’s anything that can be done about his poor memory.
“It’s tough and it’s really frustrating. If there’s a poster child for Alzheimer’s, I’m probably it,” Odom said. “It’s something I’m scared of. I think I need to go see a doctor at some point and see if I can work on that. It’s scary.”
Odom had a series of strokes and heart attacks after his overdose, and doctors told him he is lucky to be alive and walking let alone preparing to play in the BIG3 basketball league. From an athletic standpoint, Odom says he “can’t dribble a basketball the way I used to.”
“I guess God gave me life so he had to take something so I guess he took away some of my natural ability, which came easy to me,” he said. “Ball handling and dribbling is still an issue but I have a month to work on that before the season starts.”
Aside from an incredibly bizarre story about a kidnapping, Odom has not made headlines for the wrong reasons in a long time. That seems to be a good indicator that he is keeping his life on track, and he was named a co-captain of the Enemies BIG3 team. While his chances of playing in the NBA again are slim to none, it’s good to see Odom back on the court.
Since the onset of Ice Cube’s BIG3 league — a three-on-three basketball league primarily featuring ex-NBA players — fans have clamored for former Los Angeles Lakers big man, Lamar Odom, to sign on. Over that span, he has done the same.
On Thursday morning, they all finally got their wish as the league announced that Odom has officially entered their draft pool.
Odom, who played 14 NBA seasons and won two titles with the Lakers, had previously signed a contract with the Mighty Sports Philippines to play in the Dubai International Basketball Championship, which is currently underway. Upon conclusion of that tournament, Odom will return to the United States as he prepares for the BIG3 draft.
The 2019 BIG3 season will get underway in June, and they expect a significant influx of talent as the league has expanded from eight teams to 12 this year.
Lamar Odom is officially back to playing professional basketball, and the former NBA star shared an encouraging update when he arrived in the Philippines this week to join his new teammates.
Odom has signed a contract with Mighty Sports Philippines to play in the Dubai International Basketball Championship next month. He had his first practice with the team on Wednesday, and he took to Instagram to say he is feeling “brand new” with a chance at a fresh basketball start.
Odom is hoping to use his time in the Philippines as a tuneup for Ice Cube’s BIG3 league, and he also announced over the summer that he has signed a contract to play in the Chinese Basketball Association. He has been open about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction over the past several years, but it seems like he has finally gotten control of his life.
Aside from a bizarre gambling and kidnapping story more recently, most of the updates about Odom have been positive.
Lamar Odom has been working on a book that is expected to be published early in 2019, and it reportedly has many members of the Kardashian family feeling extremely on edge.
According to a recent article in Life & Style Magazine, the Kardashian/Jenner family is worried about what information Odom might reveal in his tell-all memoir, “Darkness to Light.” In addition to opening up about his struggles with drug addiction, Odom is expected to share details about his marriage with Khloe Kardashian and what led to the former couple getting divorced. As one source put it to Life & Style, Odom knows many of the Kardashian family’s secrets.
“Lamar doesn’t just know Khloé’s darkest secrets. He could write hundreds of pages on the dirt he has on Kris, Kim, Kourtney, and Rob, too,” the article reads, via In Touch. He honestly thinks they’re all disgusting, and the entire family has gone into panic mode over what Lamar might reveal.”
Khloe was often shown as a big supporter of Odom on her reality TV shows as the former NBA star struggled with drug abuse and alleged infidelity, but the gossip magazine says Khloe is “terrified that (Odom is) going to portray her as a heartless woman who used her husband’s near-death experience to boost ratings.”
The source goes on to say that Khloe’s mother, Kris Jenner, is the most concerned about the book, as she supposedly kept in secret contact with Odom after his divorce from Khloe.
Odom’s book is sure to be a hot seller, and we have continued to hear crazy reports about the issues he is having in his personal life.
Lamar Odom addressed a wild story about him being kidnapped while in Oregon by seemingly suggesting the report was a fairy tale.
On Wednesday morning, Radar Online published a story saying that Odom was held hostage during a trip to Oregon in June to visit his girlfriend. Odom allegedly borrowed money from some shady figures while he was there and lost the $10,000 while gambling. They supposedly then took him hostage until he came up with the money to pay it off.
Odom posted a screenshot of the story on his Instagram page Wednesday, along with a caption.
“i also got lost in a rabbit hole together with my kidnapers, rapunzel and the 7 dwarfs saved me ! We all lived happily ever after . Can you please add this to the story ? Don’t leave out the juicy facts this bulls— makes me wanna start my own gossip online platform and report stories only about me . What y’all think?” Odom wrote (profanity censored).
Odom invoking fairy tale characters seems to show he felt the report was made up. His manager meanwhile denied the report.
As far-fetched as this story sounds, based on what we’ve seen him involved in, nothing can really be ruled out when it comes to Lamar Odom.
H/T Black Sports Online
Lamar Odom has indicated for quite some time that he wants to get back into playing professional basketball, and he has finally found a way to make that happen.
On Thursday, Odom announced that he has signed a contract to play in China.
Odom, who has not played in the NBA since the 2012-13 season, did not specify which team he will play for in China. He thanked Stephon Marbury for inspiring him, as Marbury went on to win multiple titles in the Chinese Basketball Association and become a star overseas after playing 13 seasons in the NBA.
Odom has been open about his struggles with drug addiction over the past couple of years, so hopefully his decision to play professional basketball again will help keep him on the right path. Earlier this week, Odom’s name was mentioned in connection with an alarming incident at a Hooters restaurant, but the 38-year-old says he was not harmed nor directly involved.
Ex-NBA star Lamar Odom is back in the news again for a negative reason.
TMZ Sports reported on Tuesday that the former Sixth Man of the Year was involved in an altercation at a Hooters restaurant in Queens, New York in the early hours of Jul. 20, leading to the cops being called. Witnesses say that Odom and a group of friends were leaving the restaurant when they got into a verbal argument with another group. A man from the other group is said to have pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots into the air. Nobody was struck however, and the other group fled the scene, per witnesses.
As for Odom, the report says that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is cooperating with the police as they actively search for the shooter.
Odom, 38, last played in the NBA during the 2012-13 season. He has since played for Spanish club Saski Baskonia however and has expressed interest in suiting up for Ice Cube’s BIG3 basketball league.
This latest incident comes just months after Odom was caught on video collapsing at a Los Angeles nightclub in late 2017.
Lamar Odom has been interested in playing in Ice Cube’s BIG3 basketball league for quite some time, but he may be more motivated than ever now to join a team for the upcoming season.
Odom told TMZ on Thursday that he could be joining the BIG3 this summer, and he said he doesn’t have a preference of which team he plays for. However, he said he would like to play in honor of the late Rasual Butler, a fellow former NBA player who died in a car crash last month.
“The person I wanted to play for just passed away, so it don’t matter,” Odom said. “I jut want to go out there and represent for him.”
Odom considered Butler one of his closest friends in the NBA.
It’s unclear if Odom is going to receive an offer to play in the BIG3, as one coach said last summer that he would not want the former Los Angeles Laker on his team because of Odom’s well-documented issues in his personal life. While there have been reports that Odom has his drug problem under control, a disturbing video showed that he had collapsed in a nightclub back in November. Odom appeared to remain conscious, though it’s unclear what exactly happened.
Most people seem to agree that Odom could still play if he can get in shape and keep his head on straight, but those are two very big ifs.
Lamar Odom was recorded on video after collapsing at an LA nightclub early Sunday morning.
TMZ Sports shares the report and video of the former NBA player on the ground after falling in his VIP booth at a club called Bootsy Bellows.
There’s no other information available surrounding Odom’s condition.
Odom has been in rehab before for substance abuse issues and openly admitted that cocaine helped end his career. Seeing him collapse like that is not a good indication that he has learned his limits or is taking the best care of his body possible.
