Lamar Odom, former NBA star and Kardashian clan member, returning to basketball in China after 2013 retirement
Veteran will step back on the court in the Chinese Basketball Association after inking a deal with new management company this summer
The two-time NBA champion revealed he was moving to China on Instagram in early July before he subsequently deleted the post but has since posted from Amsterdam that he is “Getting ready for my next chapter in China”.
He enjoyed a 14-year NBA career with the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and LA Clippers before retiring in 2013. Odom also played in Spain briefly.
Odom recently signed with Ninety Plus, the China management company that also handles the singer Akon, referring to them as his “Chinese business partners”.
His manager revealed that he watched the Hong Kong basketball finals between Eastern and South China at Southorn Playground on Friday night, in an Instagram post.
Odom’s own latest post is also from Hong Kong while people have been posting photographs with him in the city on social media.
The 38-year old was in Hong Kong and Shenzhen earlier this summer before deciding to make the move to Shenzhen for a fresh start.
Odom wrote about his struggles with cocaine, being in a coma and entering rehab on the Players Tribune website last summer, while his marriage to ex-wife Khloe Kardashian played out in front of the cameras on reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
He cited three-time CBA champion Stephon Marbury as his inspiration for the move. Marbury recently retired after eight years in the CBA with the Beijing Ducks, Beijing Fly Dragons and Shanxi Brave Dragons.
Marbury became a fan favourite in China.
The Shenzhen Leopards reached the quarter-finals of the CBA Playoffs in March and Jeremy Lin played for them briefly in 2011.
The new season is expected to start in October.
