Lamar Odom looks on against the Ball Hogs during the BIG3 3-on-3 basketball league on June 29, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Olympic medalist Lamar Odom is no stranger to reality television, having appeared on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” with then-wife Khloe Kardashian.
But he’ll have all eyes on him starting next month as he puts on his dancing shoes to compete on “Dancing with the Stars.” Odom was named to the cast of the show’s 28th season Wednesday on “Good Morning America,” becoming the 33rd U.S. Olympian to compete on the show.
The fourth overall pick out of Rhode Island in the 1999 NBA Draft, Odom played 14 seasons in the NBA, mostly with the Los Angeles Lakers. He won two NBA titles with the Lakers and earned Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2011.
In 2004, Odom was selected to the U.S. men’s basketball team that competed at the Olympic Games Athens 2004. Odom helped Team USA to the bronze medal, averaging 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in eight games. Odom scored 14 points in the bronze-medal match win over Lithuania.
He again represented Team USA six years later, leading the U.S. in rebounds as it won its first FIBA World Championship gold in 16 years.
Since retiring from pro basketball in 2014, Odom has struggled with addiction, something he said hastened the end of his playing career. Now clean and sober, Odom will go after the famed mirror ball trophy. Odom will hope to join the six fellow Olympians who have won the show, such as Apolo Anton Ohno and Laurie Hernandez.
The 12-member celebrity cast for season 28 also includes country artist Lauren Alaina, “Bachelorette” star Hannah Brown and actor James Van Der Beek.
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
