Lamar Odom is well-known among basketball fans because of his versatile style of play. What most of them might now know is that Odom was once given the nickname “The Goods” because that is what he practically delivered during every game during his younger years. Back when he was a star with the University of Rhode Island, Odom would help lead the team to the conference championship and also gave them their first A-10 tournament championship.
After his senior year at college, Odom made himself eligible for the upcoming 1999 NBA Draft. He was selected with the sixth overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers and he would go on to have a very solid rookie season with the team. His stats of 16.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 4.2 apg were a testament to the kind of versatile play that Odom was capable of giving. He was named to the NBA All Rookie 2nd team for his efforts.
After spending his first five seasons with the Clippers, Odom would become a free agent in 2003 and he signed with the Miami Heat where he would play alongside rising star, Dwyane Wade. He, Wade, and the explosive Caron Butler would help lead the Heat to the second round of the playoffs where they would fall to the Indiana Pacers in 6 games.
By the following season, Odom and Butler were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Following the stellar season that he had with the Heat just a year prior, Odom would continue to be a solid player for the Lakers, but they would end up missing the playoffs during his first season with them. He would prove to be a valuable member for the Lakers as he helped lead them to back-to-back NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
Odom’s size and athleticism usually make him a tough matchup for most defenders playing his position. He has steadily improved his offensive game throughout his career and has shown a sweet shooting touch from the three point line as well. He is also a very capable defender and rebounder, and his size allows him to effectively guard smaller players. Another facet of Odom’s game that often gets overlooked is his playmaking ability. Odom is averaging 4 assists per game in his career and even though it might not seem much, his willingness to make the extra pass have helped his teams in more ways than one.