Mavericks’ Lamar Odom Contemplated Sitting the Season Out
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NBA via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Before the trade from the Los Angeles Lakers that devastated him, Dallas Mavericks forward Lamar Odom had a difficult summer that almost led him to sit out the entire 2011-2012 season.
This past July, Odom’s 24-year old cousin was murdered, which took a toll on him. To make things worse, just days after his cousin’s death, Odom was a passenger in a car that killed a teen pedestrian when the car he was in collided with a motorcycle. As a result of those traumatic events, Odom seriously contemplated taking a year off from basketball, and possibly longer.
“My wife talked me out of it,” Odom told ESPN.com.
“Cause I was asking myself: ‘Was I mentally prepared to play? If I didn’t play well, was I mentally prepared to help the team?’ I had thought, ‘Maybe I need a year.’ Because of the lockout, I thought, ‘Maybe somebody’s sending me a sign that I needed this time off.’
“(But) when I told some of my friends and family that I was thinking about steppin’ back for a minute, I think the reaction from the closest people to me kind of gave me the energy to get back at it.”
Odom this season is averaging just 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game after winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio