After a few days for his debut to sink in, Laboral Kutxa’s latest acquisition Lamar Odom is just happy to be back on the basketball court after years of being in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Former NBA veteran Odom, who is separated from ex-wife Khloe Kardashian following a series of drug related incidents, is in Spain to get his basketball career back on the road, and away from his troubles back home in America.
Odom is signed to a two-year deal with the Liga Endesa side but is expected to extend his stay in Vitoria for the entire season, so that he can get to the level he wants to be.
The 34-year-old and two-time NBA championship winner hasn’t ruled out a move back to the NBA but doesn’t feel he is in the right shape for the league.
He played just over six minutes, off the bench but went scoreless in Laboral Kutxa’s 81-71 loss to rivals Unicaja Malaga on Thursday in the Euroleague Top 16. A result that leaves Odom’s side 1-7 and bottom of Group E.
“It’s so good just to be out on the court and play basketball again,” Odom said. “Last time I played five on five in competition was in the last round of the [NBA] Playoff last year, so it was so good to be back.”
While his break-up with Kardashian is still a dominant news story, Odom is now surrounded with team-mates who will not judge him, off the court and will be there for him on the court. It’s all the former Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers forward wants.
He even has a role model within the team.
“Andres Nocioni is my role model now, he has a lot of experience,” Odom admitted. Nocioni; himself a former NBA player with the Sacremento Kings and the Chicago Bulls led Laboral Kutxa with 18 points in the loss.
Odom is expected to feature in Laboral Kutxa’s league game at Valencia later on tonight.
