Image: Lamar Odom attends the 23rd annual Harold & Carole Pump Foundation Gala at The Beverly Hilton on August 18, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.
Lamar Odom attends the 23rd annual Harold & Carole Pump Foundation Gala at The Beverly Hilton on August 18, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.
As far as we know, Lamar Odom hasn't been a permanent Texas resident since his short-lived stint with the Mavericks during the 2011-2012 NBA season. That's about to change, apparently.
The two-time NBA champion has recently been spotted around Killeen, meeting with local police and attending a Killeen City Council meeting. You might be (understandably) wondering, "Why Killeen?" Well, Odom plans to open a school for kids from kindergarten through 12th grade that, of course, will be focused on sports. Called the Lamar Odom Academy, the school will also offer programming in science, technology, e-sports and mathematics.
"I've done a lot of wrong in my life," Odom said, according to KCEN News. "So through everything I've been through, why not start giving back in the city of Killeen?"
A famous athlete is opening a school in Texas. Great idea! What could — coughcoughdeionsanders — possibly go wrong?
The announcement came just before the Fourth of July Weekend, as Odom, in a video promoting an appearance at Killeen's Panama City Bar & Grill, stated his plans for the academy. According to KSLA News, Odom hopes to open a second location of the school in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Not everyone is excited about the news, though. A small business owner told the Killeen Daily Herald*, "*The only thing we know about you is that you’re an NBA two-time (champion) basketball player, but we don’t know you from any community work. The only thing that we know you from is doing crack and dealing with prostitutes.”
To be fair, we also know he married into one of the most famous families in television.
Odom also claimed in the Panama City Bar & Grill video that he's filming a new show called Mayor of Killeen, though details were not disclosed. Oddly, that part is the least surprising given his history with reality television. If you'll recall, Odom was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009-2016, during which he frequently appeared on his then-wife's breakout show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Odom's joining the Mavericks was a storyline on the show, as Kardashian was a Dallas resident once upon a time.
No official plans have been announced for the alleged school's opening, though. Local reporters said no camera crews have been seen, either. Perhaps he's still in the manifestation stages.