The Truth About Lamar Odom And Kobe Bryant's Friendship
After Kobe Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, with his daughter Gigi Bryant and seven other people, Lamar Odom penned an emotional tribute to his friend and longtime teammate. Odom said when he nearly died from a drug overdose, he would have traded places with the deceased NBA legend. "I know I been through my own stuff in life with using drugs and not being good to myself," he wrote (via People). "When I went through that Coma situation if God would have came to me and said we would take me and spare Kobe I would have rather that happened."
A couple months later, in March 2020, Odom admitted how difficult Bryant's death was on him. "That s**t took the breath out of me, man. That s**t f**ked me up for real," he said on the show "Drink Champs: Happy Hour" (via Bleacher Report). In fact, the one-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year struggled to cope with the loss of his friend. "It took me some time to even really accept it ... I would call his phone weeks after it happened, and just text him," Odom said in a 2021 interview with Vlad TV.
Bryant was someone Odom could rely on. Odom admitted he once called Bryant to bail him out of a gambling debt — as he revealed on the "All the Smoke" podcast in 2021. On the anniversary of Bryant's death, Odom was able to remember his friend in a special way.
Kobe Bryant 'meant the world' to Lamar Odom
To commemorate the two-year anniversary of Kobe Bryant and Gigi Bryant's deaths, Lamar Odom received a custom necklace, as seen above. Odom showed off the stunning piece on his Instagram page on January 26. The diamond chain necklace had a pendant, which was crafted in the likeness of a famous photo of Kobe kissing his daughter while the pair sat courtside in 2019, per TMZ.
On the back of the pendant was a quote from the notoriously hardworking NBA legend: "Rest at the end, not in the middle." The chain was crafted out of 25 carats of VS diamonds, and valued at around $17,000. Odom was touched by the gift, which was given to him by his manager Tonita B. "To understand that Kobe meant the world to me and have this made as a constant reminder for me to keep going has me at loss for words," Odom wrote on Instagram.
That was not Odom's only Kobe-related post. Shortly after posting his new jewelry, the two-time NBA champion uploaded footage from the memorial held to honor the life of the deceased Los Angeles Lakers legend and his daughter to Instagram. "Not a day goes by without thinking of you my brother @kobebryant," Odom wrote in the caption. The two had a connection that Kobe did not share with many teammates. One time, Odom helped bust up a potential fight between Kobe and rapper Master P, who came to watch a Lakers practice. Odom recalled the encounter during a 2021 interview with Vlad TV.