Los Angeles Clippers: 15 best draft picks of all-time
By John Buhler
Before he got all caught up in the Kardashians, forward Lamar Odom was an outstanding player for both Los Angeles based NBA franchises. After a brief and tumultuous time in college, the Clippers selected Odom No. 4 overall in the 1999 NBA Draft after his freshman season with the Rhode Island Rams of the Atlantic 10.
Sure, Odom would achieve most of his NBA success as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would win back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010, as well as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. That being said, Odom was a talented, albeit troubled player during his first few years in the league with the Clippers.
Odom would play his first four NBA seasons with the Clippers from 1999 to 2003. He was an All-Rookie first teamer in 2000, but a pair of drug policy suspensions limited Odom to just 78 games in his third and fourth seasons in the league. Odom would sign with the Miami Heat in 2003 NBA free agency and would reshape his NBA career the rest of the way.
He would retire after the 2012-13 NBA season after rejoining the Clippers as a high-end reserve. Odom would play in all 82 NBA games during his final season in the league. In five seasons with the Clippers, Odom averaged 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 31.7 minutes per contest. He would play in 312 of his 961 career NBA games with the Clippers, starting in 218 of them for Los Angeles.