Former pro basketball star Lamar Odom declined to comment about his recent DUI arrest during an appearance Saturday at a Las Vegas restaurant.
Odom, 46, who played 14 seasons in the NBA with various teams including the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, was driving over 110 mph on a Las Vegas freeway on Jan. 17, the Nevada Highway Patrol alleged.
After being pulled over, he failed multiple sobriety tests while smelling of marijuana, an arrest report said. Odom faces a misdemeanor charge of DUI, among other charges.
On Saturday, Odom was introducing his new line of spirits Saturday at C3 Lounge, a restaurant on South Decatur Boulevard near West Sahara Avenue. Odom, who according to his arrest report told a Highway Patrol trooper he doesn’t drink, said Saturday he didn’t have anything to say about his arrest.
“I’m just here to keep it positive,” Odom told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The people that love me, I love them for loving me.”
Odom was pulled over by a Highway Patrol trooper on I-15 near Spring Mountain Road. When the “overwhelming odor” of marijuana wafted out from the black Dodge Durango SUV Odom had been driving, the arrest report alleged, a trooper asked him when he had last smoked marijuana.
Odom told the trooper his passenger was smoking it and said he doesn’t smoke, the report said. The former NBA star has previously been public about his past struggles with drugs and alcohol.
A status check for Odom’s legal case is scheduled for March 17, online court records show. In addition to the DUI count, Odom also faces misdemeanor charges of speeding at least 41 mph over the speed limit and failure to maintain travel lane or improper lane change, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.
As a Los Angeles Laker, Odom won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010. He was also named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2011.
Odom also said Saturday he always enjoys being in Las Vegas and that he wants the city to get an NBA franchise in the coming years.
“I hope so,” Odom said. “I think it’s the perfect place for it. I love Las Vegas. The NBA championship and the Super Bowl should be held here every year.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.