Lamar Odom Predicts Lakers Will Win NBA Championship
Former Lakers forward, Lamar Odom, is not concerned about his former squad.
“I think they're good enough to win a championship,” Odom tells TMZ Sports in a statement Sunday (Jan 30). “They're still my pick to win the championship. I don't know if that's Laker pride or me just being a Laker at heart. But they're still my pick,” he continued.
The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers are currently not doing well. At 24-27, they sit ninth in the Western Conference standings — a ranking that has them out of the playoffs completely.
While all of the NBA has had to deal with safety and health protocols due to the surge of the Omicron outbreak which saw several star athletes miss significant playing tme, this is La La land, where championship expectations are the price to pay for the sunny weather and close proximity to the stars.
Add the fact that the Lakers won it all two years ago, including selling the house to acquire multiple all-star and top 75 player of all-time in Russell Westbrook to pair alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis this past off-season, let's just say the pressure has been on.
Yet, it’s because of these moves and this combination of players — while scrutinized — that has Odom encouraged.
“Anytime you have LeBron James on the court and a healthy Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony as your 6th man, I think they'll give you a really good shot,” he said.
The former husband to Khloe Kardashian went on to give some advice, adding they need to follow Brons lead like his champion Laker squad followed Kobe Bryant when they won it years ago.
"Of the teams that I played for that won championships, we had a tremendous leader in Bean Bryant," Odom added. "A lot of his will, tenacity ... it kind of rubbed off on us. I would like to see LeBron James' will and tenacity and his will to win rub off on these Laker guys." "I think once that happens, once they coincide that, they'll be all right."
The Lakers’ next game is Wednesday, February 2nd against the Portland Trail Blazers to kick off a four-day homestand, where Odom’s hunch about the Purple and Gold will be put to the test.
