Odom entered the league as the No. 4 pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1999 NBA Draft and quickly made a name for himself as a uniquely skilled forward. Over the course of his career, he played for multiple teams, including the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he became a key contributor to back-to-back championship runs in 2009 and 2010.<\/p>\n
Known for his versatility, Odom earned the NBA\u2019s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2011. Across his time in the league, he earned tens of millions before playing his final NBA season with the Clippers in 2012\u201313.<\/p>\n
Odom was expected to play for the New York Knicks the following season but was ultimately waived as he “was unable to uphold the standards to return as an NBA player,” New York Knicks president Phil Jackson said in a statement at the time, per ESPN<\/a>. In 2015, the basketball star nearly died from an overdose<\/a> \u2014 an experience he detailed in Netflix’s The Death & Life of Lamar Odom<\/a>, which premiered on March 31.<\/p>\n Here’s everything to know about how much money Lamar Odom made playing in the NBA \u2014 and how his financial situation drastically changed in 2015.<\/p>\n Lamar Odom made $110 million from basketball Lamar Odom #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the game on March 4, 2010 in Miami, Florida. Odom earned roughly $110 million over the course of his NBA career, according to Forbes<\/a>. He was drafted No. 4 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1999 and signed a three-year rookie contract worth about $7.9 million.<\/p>\n After four seasons with the Clippers \u2014 including a one-year extension worth around $3.6 million \u2014 Odom signed a six-year, $65 million deal with the Miami Heat in 2003.<\/p>\n His time in Miami was short-lived, as he was traded the following year to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he became a key piece of the franchise. In 2009, the Lakers re-signed him to a four-year, $33 million contract.<\/p>\n He was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, earning a salary of about $8.9 million, per ESPN<\/a>. The Clippers acquired Odom in 2012, where he made $8.2 million, according to the Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lamar Odom’s foundation raised more than $2 million Lamar Odom at the 5th Anniversary Dinner of The Cathy’s Kids Organization on April 17, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. In 2004, Odom founded his charity, Cathy\u2019s Kids, as a tribute to his late mother, with the goal of supporting cancer research and underprivileged youth.<\/p>\n However, nearly a decade later, the organization came under scrutiny after reports revealed that while it had raised an estimated total of $2.2 million, per Fox News<\/a>, little of that funding appeared to go toward cancer-related causes. According to 2010 IRS filings obtained by CBS News<\/a>, nearly half of funds raised that year went to the $72,000 salary of secretary Jerry Degregorio, who was the best man at Odom’s wedding to Kardashian.<\/p>\n Odom denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that the foundation still served a charitable purpose and that he had personally contributed much of its funding. No legal violations were found.<\/p>\n The charity eventually became inactive.<\/p>\n He pawned his championship rings amid mounting medical bills from his 2015 overdose Lamar Odom #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy after the 2009 NBA Finals on June 14, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. In October 2015, Odom experienced a near-fatal overdose. He was found unconscious at a brothel in Nevada and was rushed to the hospital. The former NBA player spent three days in a coma, during which he experienced 12 strokes and six heart attacks.<\/p>\n Despite the odds, Odom ultimately survived. He spent months in recovery and rehabilitation, relearning basic functions like walking and talking.<\/p>\n During a November 2022 episode of his podcast, On the LO, Odom revealed that he pawned his two NBA championship rings<\/a> to pay for medical bills relating to his overdose. The rings were later sold at an auction in 2020 for $36,600 and $78,000, respectively.<\/p>\n The fan who purchased the rings offered to return them to Odom for free, telling him at the Lakers vs. Clippers home opener in October 2022 that he deserved to have them back.<\/p>\n![\"Lamar](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dcc875445b66d0c55b05232b5fba6143.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Issac Baldizon\/NBAE via Getty<\/p>\n![\"Lamar](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ecbc551745e95372a3878b885ef6eee5.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Chelsea Lauren\/WireImage<\/p>\n![\"Lamar](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4329fc76aeef75e320c7f6760df0be82.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant\/NBAE via Getty<\/p>\n