Laker files: Odom, Turiaf and Walton
I covered the Lakers for three years for the Los Angeles Daily News before coming to the Tribune for the start of the playoffs last year. I wanted to share some stories of the Lakers I was able to get to know in those years.
We're going to do these two or three at a time for the next couple of days on the blog. Hope you enjoy.
LAMAR ODOM
If you look closely at Odom's shoes, they serve as a tribute to the people he has lost in his life. He writes "Grandma" in honor of his grandmother, "Cathy" in honor of his mother and "Baby J" in honor of his infant son, Jayden. As much of a people person as he is, Odom has been visited by incomprehensible tragedy in his life.
Jayden was 6 1-2 months old when he suffocated in his crib in June 2006. It wasn't until September that Odom first talked publicly about his son's death; I won't forget that he carried a Bible into the interview room at the Lakers' practice facility. It was gut-wrenching as Odom recounted the time he spent saying goodbye to his son.
That season, Odom hung what had to be a 4XL T-shirt in his locker with Jayden's face on the front. It was haunting in some ways to walk into the locker room at Staples Center and see that shirt game after game. Some people might have internalized their grief, but Odom put it on public display.
On a more upbeat note, I never got tired of hearing Odom make reference to once being the best seventh-grader in New York or his front-running support for the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Jets. Odom also had the best line ever on why college athletes should be paid: "Nobody ever bought a ticket to see a kid take a test."
RONNY TURIAF
Only days after the Lakers drafted Turiaf in the second round in 2005, it looked like his career might be over. He was found to be suffering from an enlarged aortic root, the same condition that killed actor John Ritter. After undergoing open-heart surgery, Turiaf incredibly made it back to the court that same season.
Turiaf is an over-the-top personality, dancing on the bench to every made three-pointer or alley-oop dunk, but he's also a hard-nosed player along the lines of Paul Millsap. What most impressed me, though, was that Turiaf reached out to Kobe Bryant in ways nobody else on the team did.
It was Turiaf who took Bryant to a Gonzaga/Pepperdine game to meet Adam Morrison. They also went to a Gonzaga/Duke game one year at Madison Square Garden. At the time, Turiaf said he wanted Bryant to get a taste of the college basketball fun he missed by jumping to the NBA out of high school.
Now you can see Turiaf as Bryant's co-star in the Nike commercial where Bryant jumps over the Aston-Martin. Turiaf also gets bonus points from me because we like the same French restaurant (Lilly's) in the Abbot Kinney neighborhood of Venice.
LUKE WALTON
My favorite story involving Walton was the day he had to deny at practice that he was dating Britney Spears. She had shown up to a couple of Lakers games and some South African tabloid made the leap that she was interested in Walton. This, of course, then got picked up by every gossip site on the Internet.
Walton's denial was unintentionally hilarious, full of quotes like "I'm sure Britney's a nice girl" and "I'm in a relationship. I'm very happy in my relationship." He said his girlfriend found the whole thing amusing . . . until she had to explain to her parents why Walton was on "Entertainment Tonight" being linked to Britney Spears.
Walton was close with Devean George, Brian Cook and Kareem Rush, but is the only one of the four left with the Lakers. He can do a fabulous Bill Walton impression, is best friends with New Jersey's Richard Jefferson and opened a barbecue restaurant in Manhattan Beach last year.
-- Ross Siler
We're going to do these two or three at a time for the next couple of days on the blog. Hope you enjoy.
LAMAR ODOM
If you look closely at Odom's shoes, they serve as a tribute to the people he has lost in his life. He writes "Grandma" in honor of his grandmother, "Cathy" in honor of his mother and "Baby J" in honor of his infant son, Jayden. As much of a people person as he is, Odom has been visited by incomprehensible tragedy in his life.
Jayden was 6 1-2 months old when he suffocated in his crib in June 2006. It wasn't until September that Odom first talked publicly about his son's death; I won't forget that he carried a Bible into the interview room at the Lakers' practice facility. It was gut-wrenching as Odom recounted the time he spent saying goodbye to his son.
That season, Odom hung what had to be a 4XL T-shirt in his locker with Jayden's face on the front. It was haunting in some ways to walk into the locker room at Staples Center and see that shirt game after game. Some people might have internalized their grief, but Odom put it on public display.
On a more upbeat note, I never got tired of hearing Odom make reference to once being the best seventh-grader in New York or his front-running support for the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Jets. Odom also had the best line ever on why college athletes should be paid: "Nobody ever bought a ticket to see a kid take a test."
RONNY TURIAF
Only days after the Lakers drafted Turiaf in the second round in 2005, it looked like his career might be over. He was found to be suffering from an enlarged aortic root, the same condition that killed actor John Ritter. After undergoing open-heart surgery, Turiaf incredibly made it back to the court that same season.
Turiaf is an over-the-top personality, dancing on the bench to every made three-pointer or alley-oop dunk, but he's also a hard-nosed player along the lines of Paul Millsap. What most impressed me, though, was that Turiaf reached out to Kobe Bryant in ways nobody else on the team did.
It was Turiaf who took Bryant to a Gonzaga/Pepperdine game to meet Adam Morrison. They also went to a Gonzaga/Duke game one year at Madison Square Garden. At the time, Turiaf said he wanted Bryant to get a taste of the college basketball fun he missed by jumping to the NBA out of high school.
Now you can see Turiaf as Bryant's co-star in the Nike commercial where Bryant jumps over the Aston-Martin. Turiaf also gets bonus points from me because we like the same French restaurant (Lilly's) in the Abbot Kinney neighborhood of Venice.
LUKE WALTON
My favorite story involving Walton was the day he had to deny at practice that he was dating Britney Spears. She had shown up to a couple of Lakers games and some South African tabloid made the leap that she was interested in Walton. This, of course, then got picked up by every gossip site on the Internet.
Walton's denial was unintentionally hilarious, full of quotes like "I'm sure Britney's a nice girl" and "I'm in a relationship. I'm very happy in my relationship." He said his girlfriend found the whole thing amusing . . . until she had to explain to her parents why Walton was on "Entertainment Tonight" being linked to Britney Spears.
Walton was close with Devean George, Brian Cook and Kareem Rush, but is the only one of the four left with the Lakers. He can do a fabulous Bill Walton impression, is best friends with New Jersey's Richard Jefferson and opened a barbecue restaurant in Manhattan Beach last year.
-- Ross Siler
9:36 AM
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2 Comments:
I stand corrected. I get it: this blog isn't about being a fan of any team. I
I would, however, like to reiterate just how much I do enjoy this blog.
Thanks.
Good stuff. You were my favorite Laker reporter last year. Glad to have you covering the series.
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