Lamar Odom has a loyal fan who made sure the NBA alumnus was reunited with the championship rings he pawned back in 2016.
Odom opened up on the newest episode of his On the LO podcast that he pawned his two championship rings six years ago in order to pay for medical bills following his near-fatal drug overdose at a Las Vegas brothel in 2015.
“To make a long
story short, there was a time I came up out of the coma, I checked my account and my sh*t was at like double zero and I panicked a little bit….I put (the rings) up for auction,” Odom shared.“It hurt me even just to say that. So, whatever, I put them up, put the money in my pocket, put it to use. Made some use of it. I think that money’s even kind of helped me get back here but it was embarrassing for me to do that.”
By 2020, the rings were sold at an auction for $36,600 and $78,000, CBS Sports reported. The former NBA power forward had no idea he would eventually be reunited with his rings while at the Los Angeles Lakers home opener against the Clippers on Oct. 20.
“God is good, and I wanted to tell you a little story to tell you about how good he is,” Odom said at the start of his testimony.
While watching his old
team play, Odom was approached by a fan who had purchased the rings and offered to give them back to him. Odom said the fan, who is possibly a season pass holder who frequents most Lakers games, said the former Lakers player deserved to have them back.“I get there and see a guy who used to sit right by us. Let’s call him ‘Franz’ for right now. My man ‘Franz,’ he says, ‘Yo, Lamar, I bought your rings,'” Odom recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, sh*t,’ because at this point, I’m still embarrassed.”
After telling Odom to go pick up his rings, “Franz” gave them to him without asking for anything in return.
“I think it goes to show you how serious Lakers fans are,” Odom said.
Odom played on five different teams in 14 NBA seasons. He won two championships while playing alongside late Lakers great Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010.