The fall of Lamar Odom seemingly happened when he returned to Los Angeles. Everyone blamed his new reality TV persona for going from a televised wedding to a near-death experience and divorce. But his hardships began much before that, and they played into his career and personal life.

In recent months, we’ve heard of Odom clearing the air with Khloe Kardashian, getting evicted from his home, and helping young athletes. He spoke about the much harder stuff on the Locked In podcast this week.

The host Ian Bick was pretty direct when he asked about reports of Odom’s substance abuse in 2009. That was the year he married Kardashian. The 2x NBA champ said, “I can’t really remember the times, but I probably was. I probably was.”

After a little clarification, Odom confessed when he started leaning into substances. “I would probably say after my son passed away. My son passed away in 2006. So, I would think maybe the year before that is when I got introduced to [it]—before his death, yeah.”

One of the most tragic events in Odom’s life went parallel to his prime years with the Lakers. He had three children, Destiny (born 1998), Lamar Jr. (born 2002), and Jayden (born December 15, 2005) with his ex, Liza Morales. When Jayden was six months old, he passed away in his crib. The official cause of death was SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

This past Monday would have been Jayden Odom’s 20th birthday. He’s survived by his parents and older siblings, Destiny and Lamar Jr.

Around the time of Jayden’s passing, Odom’s life spiralled. Between 2000 and 2001, Odom had already been suspended twice for violating the NBA’s drug policy. But it only got worse from there.

Lamar Odom had a long way back to recovery

Today, Jayden’s loss makes Lamar Odom a different person. “It makes me stronger,” he told Bick. But when he was still in the NBA, the grief hit different.

In previous interviews, Odom said losing their son led to his breakup with Morales. They stayed in touch as co-parents, but in 2008, she caught wind of his addiction problems escalating. In 2013, he was arrested and charged with DUI. His marriage with Khloe was on the rocks then, and they filed for divorce before reconciling for a bit.

Odom’s addiction problem reached its peak in 2015. He had a near-fatal overdose when he was found unresponsive at a Nevada brothel. Khloe stuck with him till he recovered before they separated for good in 2016.

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Odom would later return to basketball, not in the NBA, but overseas. He’s no longer the troubled athlete trope.

Now he’s at a point where he can talk about his dark past. But his daughter said that wasn’t the case a decade ago. “Two years ago, he was completely in denial about using dr-gs,” Destiny said in 2017 when she repaired her relationship with her father. “Now he’s a lot more open, and he’s a lot more apologetic. I feel like we’re trying to get our communication going, but it’s definitely one step at a time.”

Although he did get evicted in early 2025 after falling approximately $45,000 behind on rent. But he ended up staying with his older kids. That might have been for the better. Odom’s Instagram posts since then have been positive updates with his kids, Destiny and Lamar Jr. They even threw him a surprise to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers’ 2010 championship.