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March Madness: Lamar Odom Motivated By NCAA Basketball Tournament, Source Says

By Sandra Johnson
Published on: 07:49 PST, Mar 28, 2016

Who’s loving March Madness? Lamar Odom! According to a new report, the NCAA Basketball Tournament is motivating Odom’s recovery since “Lamar is still, deep down, just a fan of the sport!”

As a former college and NBA player, Lamar Odom has long professed his love for the sport of basketball, and according to an unnamed source for Hollywood Life, Odom “can’t get enough of the tournament.”

“Lamar’s at the crib, eating up March Madness! These guys on the court are hungry and have so much raw energy and talent and Lam respects that. It reminds him when he was coming up in the ranks, trying to win tournaments and ultimately get into the NBA, which he did.”

Odom played one year of college basketball for the University of Rhode Island, where he averaged 17.6 points per game. He led his college team to the 1999 conference championship and was named the most valuable player of the Atlantic 10 tournament. At the end of a single season at Rhode Island, Lamar declared for the NBA draft and was drafted fourth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2000, Odom was named to the 2000 All-Rookie first team.

After Odom’s coma and hospitalization in October, sources reported that the former Los Angeles Laker was determined to play basketball once again, though, at the time, the source was unsure what that would mean. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the source claimed that Lam Lam would be happy if he could play casual pickup basketball games once again.

Back in October, Odom was hospitalized after he was found unconscious in a Las Vegas-area brothel, where he reportedly overdosed on a dangerous mixture of cocaine and sexual performance-enhancing drugs. At the time of his hospitalization, Odom was given a 50/50 chance of survival.

He’s faced a long road to recovery ever since, most of which he’s done with his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, at his side. Lammy is said to have had to relearn many cognitive and physical skills, including relearning the ability to walk and the ability to speak.

Nevertheless, the Hollywood Life source reports that the former Keeping Up with the Kardashians star is back on the court and playing ball once again — even though his games are not all that serious and a “far cry from his NBA days.”

“After tons of therapy, Lamar is finally back on the court and happier than ever.”

The source goes on to recognize that Lamar is not likely to ever return to the NBA as a player, but that he might be interested in returning to the league in another role — as a substance abuse counselor.

Whether it’s the raw talent and hunger of the current NCAA basketball Final Four players or his desire to play the game once again, one thing is obvious: The game of basketball is helping to motivate Odom to improve his overall health and get back into shape.

If rumors are to be believed, basketball isn’t the only motivating factor for Odom. Recent reports indicate that the 36-year-old is motivated to get better so he can hook up with estranged wife Khloe Kardashian. The couple were recently spotted on a “flirty” and “romantic” dinner date, and a few days later, Odom spent the Easter holiday with Khloe and the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan.

What do you think of the report that Lamar Odom is loving March Madness? Do you think watching the NCAA basketball tournament Final Four is helping to motivate the former NBA player? Why or why not?

Find out more fun facts about Lamar Odom and his basketball career in the video below.

[Photo by Harry How/Getty Images Entertainment]

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