Lamar Odom

JUST THE SIGHT OF LAMAR ODOM, standing a massive 6’10” tall, is enough to stop anyone in their tracks. Seeing him dominate a basketball court at virtually any position – dishing a show-stopping no-look pass, knocking down a 26-foot jumper, snatching a rebound or throwing down a one-handed tomahawk jam – is enough to leave the most seasoned NBA fan slack-jawed in wonder. But when he begins to speak – when he begins to tell you his roller-coaster tale of staggering hoops success, heart-wrenching personal losses, and remarkable persistence – it’s really then that you begin to glimpse the remarkable life that 27 year-old Lamar Odom has led.

In the Beginning
Born on November 6, 1979, Lamar Odom, like the rapper 50 Cent, grew up in South Jamaica, Queens, an area of New York City ravaged by the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and 90s. Drug deals took place literally feet from the steps of his childhood home. “Any time you see these inner city kids in the NBA, as well as these kids from Detroit and California,” he said, “you’ve got to understand that their background wasn’t peaches and cream.”
During his early childhood, Lamar was raised by his mother, Cathy Mercer. A corrections and traffic officer, Cathy worked hard to provide for her son, never letting the relentless challenges of single-motherhood affect her. “She was really outgoing, the light in everybody’s eye,” he said. “The life of the party. People loved her. A lot of my personality, the way I deal with people, it’s definitely through her.”

Tragically, Cathy Mercer was struck by colon cancer when Lamar was 12.

“She got sick in January, and in July she was gone,” he remembered. “It was tough to see somebody who you love so much hurting like that. I was there. I left right before the last breath, so I knew she was going to pass. For the pain that she was going through, I’d rather her not have to go through that pain.”

Parentless, Lamar might have vanished into the urban jungle without his grandmother, Mildred Mercer. A child of the South, Mildred arrived in New York City in the 1930s, and in 1957, moved into the house where Lamar spent a significant part of his childhood. It was there that he learned the values that would ultimately define him.

“[She taught me] all the little things that I stand for, the things that in today’s world get overlooked, as far as family, trying to put back into your neighborhood,” he said. “Being spiritual, believing in God. Having principles, and morals, and treating people the right way. Respecting people so you can earn respect.”

While Lamar was developing as a person, he was also developing as a basketball player. He had loved the game since he was first introduced to it, and from as early as seven years old, saw himself playing in the NBA one day.

“I was always tall for my age,” he said. “I remember being in fourth grade, fifth grade, I’m just daydreaming. The teacher comes up and says, ‘What you doing? Why you writing your name in your book a hundred times?...You better think of something else?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m going to the NBA. There is nothing else. This is what I’m going to do.’ I always tell people – they always say, ‘What would you do if you weren’t playing basketball?’ I can honestly say – I’m not trying to give you an ignorant answer – but I don’t know. I knew I was going to play basketball.”

By high school, Lamar was closing in on his dream. During his sophomore year at Christ the King High, he burst into the national consciousness, scoring 36 points en route to the city championship. His senior season, Parade Magazine named him the 1997 Player of the Year.