On Tuesday night against the Kings, Kobe Bryant suffered a left knee contusion that had many wondering if the 37-year-old was done. But with former teammate Lamar Odom in critical condition at a Las Vegas hospital, attention quickly shifted, especially when it became clear Kobe was going to be alright. The Lakers were right in the thick of it after finishing their preseason game against the Kings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Odom’s condition reached the Lakers in the locker room, and none were more effected than his former Lakers teammates, Metta World Peace and Kobe Bryant.
“There’s nothing I can say. I don’t even know what to say,” said Metta World Peace, who was childhood pals with Odom and Elton Brand, who all played on the same AAU team as adolescents in New York City. “There’s not one word I can say right now that would make sense.”
Metta’s younger brother spoke to Sam Amick of USA Today about Odom’s struggles.
The L.A. Daily News couldn’t confirm if Bryant visited Odom last night, but Mark Medina finally did and said Bryant and GM Mitch Kupchak both visited with him, which actually delayed L.A.’s flight out of McCarren.
Kobe Bryant left the arena, Lakers cited personal reasons
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 14, 2015
Kobe not available for media postgame. Left MGM. May be headed to Sunrise Hospital to check on Lamar Odom, though not confirmed.
— Steve Carp (@stevecarp56) October 14, 2015
Former wife Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner are reportedly with him in the hospital, TMZ reports, before adding some scary developments while tracking Odom’s health:
11:00 PM PT — Lamar is still in a coma and his heart is failing … our source says he is having serious problems with his kidneys and lungs as well. Khloe Kardashian is currently by his side.
9:30 PM PT — Lamar is still alive, but he is breathing with the assistance of machines and remains in critical condition … according to sources close to the situation.
7:15 PM PT — The Nye County Sheriff says the airlift of Lamar had to be scratched because his 6’10” frame was too big for the chopper. Instead, he was rushed by ambulance to a Las Vegas hospital.
The Sheriff also says the call came in at 3:15 PM for an unresponsive male at the Love Ranch. Paramedics treated Odom and he was taken to a nearby hospital. Sheriff’s detectives conducted an investigation at the brothel. It’s unclear what, if anything, they found on scene.
Bill Oram of the Orange County Register has even more depressing news, as accounts — some real, some faked — of Odom’s collapse crystalize into some sort of narrative before and after he was found unconscious.
The brothel’s owner, Dennis Hof, said brothel employees accompanied Odom to the hospital and offered a grim prognosis.
“They didn’t think he was going to make it,” he said.
Hof said Odom arrived at the brothel Saturday and told the staff he “just wanted to get away.”
It’s a refrain employees are used to hearing.
“A lot of celebrities come here to drop out,” he said.
Hof said “everything was fine” when two female employees visited Odom in his room at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. At 3:30 p.m., the employees returned to Odom’s room and found him unconscious.
Odom was bleeding and had vomited, Hof said.
“It was terrible,” Hof said. “It was something they’ll never forget.”
In his three days at the brothel, Hof said, Odom ate well and drank roughly two-thirds of a bottle of Cognac – “not an exceptional amount,” Hof said.
Odom also consumed an “excessive amount of herbal Viagra” over the course of three days at the brothel, Hof said.
He said Odom was in “good spirits” until Sunday, when the former NBA star received a phone call that “upset him a bit.”
We’ll have more on this story as it develops.
