[MelParticipant]

 Man, I really thought he could’ve been one of the special ones. I hate to see NBA players with ZERO passion.

If we were started an all time talented players with no heart or passion, he’s probably in my starting five along with Tim Thomas and Vince. But that’s another subject altogether.

This was L.O’s rookie year

 

1999–00

L.A. Clippers

76

70

36.4

.438

.360

.719

7.8

4.2

1.2

1.2

16.6

16- 7.8- 4.2 smh . He won his championships, yeah, but I believe he could’ve been a major major player on his own.

Thoughts?

[surveParticipant]

 its rare I say this about a player who has had the success of Odom, but he has never had that type of personality or demeanor to be a killer.  he is best in a complimentary role, not because of his skill, because of his will.  He is a guy that loves to play basketball but doesnt seem to want the responsibility of a leader.  He doesnt respond well to pressure and seems content with only being accountable for his share of failures on the court rather than the team’s failures as a whole.  he plays hard, but he is mentally fragile and that affects his game more than mostly anyone I have seen at this level.

[torontoraptors10Participant]

Lamar Odom always seemed to be okay to be a 2nd or 3rd option. He never had that demeanour to bring him to the next level. But he’s 30 something now? Can’t teach an old dog new tricks and his recent showing in Dallas, picking a fight with Nowitzki, isn’t really helping his case.

[scott3210Participant]

I don’t understand, why is everyone downplaying his career all of a sudden and calling him an underachiever. I understand criticizing him for his poor performance this year, but this man has had a very good career – and his career may not be done yet. In addition to his two championships as a Laker, remember his performance in the World Basketball Championships in 2010. He did everything for that team.

[iguapops420Participant]

 I respectfully have to disagree with you @surve. Odom doesn’t have the will to take every game over as a top scoring option and it actually does in part have to do with the fact that his skillset isn’t elite enough at any one thing to be  consistent top scoring option. While I do agree his mentality isn’t the type to simply take shots from others or be enough of a ballhog to get individual accolades(save for one 6MOY and a robbed all-star birth), I will say it has nothing to do with his lack of leadership. It has been stated several times by plently of Lamar’s teammates that he is a terrific leader of the team. While he was never the co-captain or anything, Phil Jackson often reffered to Kobe,Fisher, and Lamar as his team leaders.

[db24kb24Participant]

A lot of people who don’t follow odom can easily criticize, and i get that…The thing is, he belonged to a family (Lakers/LA nation) and the trade effected him much deeper than what the media saw on the surface. Odom was dealt to LA in the Shaq trade which was the beginning of the rebuilding stint in 2004-05.  They went 34-48 that season under Tomjanovich. The next 2 seasons under PJ, they were ousted in round 1. Then the next 3 seasons they made the leap to the finals and won twice. Odom’s been an integral part of the franchises success in the past decade, starting from rock bottom (smush parker & 34-48 record) to the top (back2back rings). He has had his best seasons in LA (6th moy) and he felt that he deserved more respect. Stern really messed things up w/ the CP3 trade because LO wasn’t notified before the trade was recinded. Everybody realizes its a business but at what point do you at least show respect for a 2x champ that laid it all on the line thru bad and good for 7 seasons. LA fans loved him because he could do everything on the floor, everything.

The trade hit him out of nowhere especially becuz he thought he could only gain a lil more job security by earning the 6th man of the year award, but nope. So for him it’s not just about basketball. NBA players do have emotions and they got the worst of him, so to ask him to stfu and play for the enemy or any other team for that matter is tough because he’s a laker @ heart. He could give a F whether he went to a contender or the defending champs, for him it’s not even about that. His career was made in LA, his relationships, personal life, and mostly everything else is tied to LA. 

*Notice how Pau was playing thru the rumors…yeah like a b!tch. Then KB had to come to his aid publically to calm him and he still played like sh!t. After the deadline the FIRST thing he did was make a youtube video expressing how he was relieved and could finally get back to playing his game. This was just an example of how much it affects guys, so when ppl say it’s a business, it is, but the emotional side of it is a lot for some guys. I don’t excuse LO, at all because he’s making millions of dollars, but at the same time I understand. 

[A Lil EnglishParticipant]

I too will not forget all the good years he had in LA. And now people wana call him pu55y… SMH 

[benny15Participant]

I might be the biggest non-laker fan in this thread, but ive seen Lamar act as a leader. its nice to see and know that his LA fans acknowledge that side of his, but i believe his leader ship traits begain after he left the clippers. In the heat, when trainug camp started, he came in early to know everyones names and start building a relationship with them. he was the new guy on the team being signed as a free agent, but played and acted like he’s been with them since his rookie year. and as that season went on, it became clear that he was the first option of the team, he just wasnt their go to scorer. and why did he have to be, he still had a veteran Eddie Jones, a young promising scorer in Caron Butler, and rookie phenom Dwayne Wade.

thats one thing most people dont differentiate or acknowledge. just because youre the first option doesnt mean you have to score the most. he liked having the ball in his hands early in the shot clock because he knew he could do a lot with it, and he did. he slashed, found cutters, made drop passes, pulled up near the basket or finished all the way. it was just that he woud find others as much or maybe even more times than he would look for his own shot. Lamar always looked for the easiet shot for him to make and took it. When the chance did not present itself, he will look to create for others to get that chance instead.

this doesnt make him any less of leader. it just means that his approach to the game differed from most main options.

[Author]

Posts