When Kobe Bryant left the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason game in the third quarter on Tuesday, the official word was he suffered a leg contusion, headed to the locker room and did not return to the court.
But early Wednesday, the Los Angeles Daily News confirmed earlier social media buzz that Bryant instead left the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to be by the side of former teammate Lamar Odom, who was hospitalized earlier in the day after being found unconscious in a Nevada brothel.
Bryant was joined by GM Mitch Kupchak in visiting Odom, according to the report, and the Lakers had to delay their departure by two hours.
Kupchak originally put Odom in purple and gold when he obtained the versatile swingman in a 2004 trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to Miami. That ushered in a new Lakers that would lead to back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.
Page Six has confirmed the 35-year-old basketball player was at Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch South in Pahrump, Nevada, when he was found unconscious Tuesday afternoon. Odom — the ex-husband of Khloé Kardashian — had been at the ranch alone since Saturday and reportedly was taking an herbal substitute for Viagra.
“[Paramedics] told us it wasn’t looking good, he might not make it,” Hof, owner of the Bunny Ranch and its sister brothel Love Ranch, told Page Six on Tuesday night.
While Bryant and Kupchak were missing following the Lakers’ 107-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings, plenty of Lakers did offer up their thoughts and prayers on Odom. Metta World Peace, a teammate with Odom on the Lakers championship teams, found it difficult to muster many words when speaking with reporters.
“There’s nothing I can say. I don’t even know what to say,” said World Peace, who grew up with Odom in the New York City area before playing with him in purple and gold from 2009 to 2011. “There’s not one word I can say right now that would make sense.”
The Lakers franchise had yet to officially comment on Odom as of early Wednesday, but coach Byron Scott told reporters after Tuesday’s game, “Our heart and thoughts and prayers are with Lamar and his family and I wish him all the best. That’s obviously something you don’t want to hear before the game.”
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Scott did not discuss Odom with his players because he “didn’t think it was an appropriate time to do it before the game.” Longtime Lakers trainer Gary Vitti reportedly updated players on Odom’s condition as he learned information.
“[Vitti] told us pretty much everything that’s been going on and how Lamar was, and how he thought the Lakers were his family,” Lakers swingman Nick Young told the DN. “He told us a story about how many people he lost in his life and friends. It’s sad. I don’t know how anybody can deal with that.”