When it comes to his addiction, Lamar Omar says he’s winning the battle but still fighting the war.
“Getting high is not on my agenda,” Odom told TMZ Sports Thursday. Odom is set to join the “Enemies” squad in Ice Cube’s Big 3 league, aka “The league of extraordinarily old basketball players.” This will mark the first time that Odom will compete against old NBA-level talent since the 39-year-old suffered 12 strokes and six heart attacks while in a coma following an overdose in 2015.
“My doctors say I’m a walking miracle; they’re amazed that I’m here. I always knew I had a strong will,” Odom told the Los Angeles Times. “I think my will is even stronger than I believed it was. It’s a testament that God is good. When I woke up and I couldn’t talk or walk, I never thought I would be here. I never thought I would play basketball again or talk to you. Just to be here is a win for me.”
Odom told The Times that he still struggles with short-term memory loss and noted how scared that makes him feel.
“My memory is really bad,” Odom said before burying his head in hands, according to the Times.
“I can’t remember anything. My short-term memory is really bad. … I wish I could explain it but I can’t. It’s tough and it’s really frustrating. If there’s a poster child for Alzheimer’s, I’m probably it. It’s something I’m scared of. I think I need to go see a doctor at some point and see if I can work on that. It’s scary.”
But Odom isn’t running from his past. He accepts that his life decisions have gotten him to this point and wants only to make a better future for himself.
“When you’re an addict, that’s something you live with forever, bro. You don’t just put that behind you,” he told TMZ Sports.
Ice Cube has already predicted that Odom will be the Big 3's comeback player of the year. Here’s hoping that becomes true.