Off Court Demons

"This is why you come out and work. You put your time out in the gym, and being a little kid from New York, shoveling snow, dreaming of one day playing in the NBA playoffs, give yourself a chance to win the NBA championship." — Lamar Odom

I don't watch basketball as much as I used to. But when I do, I root for the Lakers. While moving to Colorado made it easier to see the Broncos, it's much harder to catch the Lakers. Probably for the best anyway, as the team is a shell of what it once was.

I started following the Lakers because of my dad. But they really didn't become my team until Shaq and Kobe started winning titles in the early 2000s. Then Shaq left, Kobe was petulant, and the team spiraled downward.

But the Lakers had another great swing player — Lamar Odom. Odom began his career with the Clippers then went to Miami. As part of the trade that shipped Shaq to the beach, Odom returned to LA, this time with the Lakers.

As Kobe learned humility, Phil Jackson returned, and Pau Gasol came over in a trade, Odom became a pivotal piece as the Lakers went for another round of titles. They won two more, and Odom was an important part of those teams. In fact, for a few years he was probably my favorite Laker.

I loved the way Odom played, how he hustled, and how he was willing to humble himself by coming off the bench — a move that earned him the third man of the year award. But that feels like another lifetime ago.

The Lakers imploded, Odom was shipped out, and he lost his way. For as great as he was on the court, he couldn't seem to shake his demons off the court. He's still young enough to be playing, but instead he's in a Nevada hospital fighting for his life.

In the last few weeks I looked at some Hollywood depictions of the costs associated with the War on Drugs. And they don't tend to pull any punches. But it's sometimes easy to forget about some of the human costs. Odom's fall, and his public battle to stay alive this week, has brought that into the spotlight in a different way.

I loved watching him on the court. Now I hope people are watching his story and thinking twice before giving into the temptation of substances.