Marveling At ‘Magic Johnson’s Coach’ And His Own 250Lb Transformation, Kobe Bryant’s Former Teammate Sings Young Dwyane Wade’s Praise

Lamar Odom recently appeared on the Knuckleheads Podcast hosted by Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. As seen in a snippet of the episode, Kobe Bryant’s former teammate had high praises for Pat Riley – a man whom he grew up seeing coach the great Magic Johnson. Apart from crediting Riley for his 250Lb transformation, Odom also spoke highly about a rookie Dwyane Wade.

Dwyane Wade was one of the top prospects entering the NBA in 2003. Being picked #5 in the draft, Wade was expected to be the face of the franchise. In only his first season, D-Wade left everyone impressed. Even though he didn’t win the coveted Rookie of the Year trophy, Wade’s 16.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 2003-2004 marked a very good rookie year. Unfortunately, his talent could only take the Heat till the second round of the playoffs, where they lost to the Pacers in six games.

Lamar Odom praises Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade

Even though Stan Van Gundy was the coach of the Miami Heat, Pat Riley, Team President, had a huge influence on Lamar Odom. During his lone season with the South Florida side, Odom was pushed by Pat to work hard. On the podcast appearance, the big man credited Riley for helping him bulk up and reach the 250-pound mark.

“Pat (Riley), I looked up to him. He was the head coach for the Lakers. That’s Magic Johnson’s coach. That’s how I look at him. He told me what I needed to do… For the first month of working out, y’all remember how skinny I was? I got to like 250 (pounds) up in Miami,” Odom said.

Odom was a part of the Heat’s roster during Dwyane Wade’s rookie season. Speaking about the dominance of the 22-year-old Wade, Lamar stated how the rookie had a massive size advantage over his competitors.

“I remember calling home about D (Dwyane) Wade. I’m like ‘Yo… we got one. Y’all remember that dude, that we seen, get that triple-double?’ He like that

Too big for the points and like too quick and strong for the two. He gonna f**k ‘em up. And he in the Hall-Of-Fame.”

After seeing what the 6ft 4’ guard was capable of, Lamar was beyond accurate with his prediction. ‘The Flash’ did go on to establish himself as one of the better players in the league. Merely two seasons later, the Marquette alum led the Heat to their first Championship win in franchise history. Clearly, Riley’s Odom-Heat trade in 2004 worked out in their favor.

Wade’s love for Odom

Unfortunately, Lamar Odom donned the Miami Heat uniform for merely one season. In that 2003-2004 campaign, the 6ft 10″ forward lodged 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds. Despite sharing the locker room with Dwyane Wade for only a season, the latter credits Odom for having a significant impact throughout his career.

“He’s one of the good ones, just a good human being. You don’t run into too many people like that who is just a genuine, good person. He’s just somebody you love to be around. He has had that infectious personality on everyone he has met. The impact he had on all of us individually (in 2003-04), I can’t even explain it.” 

Dwayne Wade was among the many personalities who expressed his concerns with Odom’s drug addiction. The Miami Heat legend has supported and done everything in his capabilities to help Odom fight his addiction.

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• Dwyane Wade
• Lamar Odom
• Pat Riley