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When the season 28 cast of Dancing With the Stars was announced on Good Morning America Tuesday morning, it was revealed that NBA star Lamar Odom will be joining his fellow celebrities and dance pros on the DWTS dance floor this Fall.
On Good Morning America, Odom was asked about one of his nicknames, “dancing machine.” He said that reputation “might come in handy” on the Dancing With the Stars stage. When asked about how he got that nickname, he said “I was playing basketball, of course, for a famous rapper … and I don’t know, I guess that’s just the impression I left on him.”
Tom Bergeron, the host of the reality show, pointed out that while the pros were dancing, Odom pointed at them and said “It’s pretty intimidating.” Bergeron asked if the sparkles and sequined costumes were also intimidating, or if fans would get to see him sporting some sequins on the show. His response? “No, I don’t know if I can do sparkles.”
After spending seven seasons on the Los Angeles Lakers and five with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dancing With the Stars stage will offer Odom a new kind of competition on a new Los Angeles-based “court” of sorts.
The basketball star and two-time NBA champion took a hiatus from basketball after being found unconscious at a Nevada brothel in 2015. The 14-year NBA player almost died from the drug overdose, suffering 12 strokes and 6 heart attacks while in a coma, according to Fox News.
At the time of his near-fatal health scare, Odom was still married to Khloe Kardashian. They have since divorced, and Odom talked about their relationship and marriage in his new memoir, Darkness to Light. Two of Odom’s former in-laws, Rob Kardashian and Kim Kardashian West, competed on past seasons of Dancing With the Stars, but it is unlikely that they will be giving him advice before he begins competing.
In July 2019, Odom told TMZ “Doing reality TV and being married to Khloe, besides having children and besides me doing this motivational speaking that I’m going to start doing, that was the most memorable part and the best part of my adulthood. So, there’s nothing I regret about that.” His positive opinion of sharing his life on reality television makes it unsurprising that he would accept an invitation to participate in a show like Dancing With the Stars.
Although fans of the show now know that they will get to watch compete in ballroom dance, Bergeron revealed that viewers will not know who Lamar Odom was partnered with until the season 28 premiere. At 6 foot 10 inches tall, Odom will need a tall partner, but he’ll still be at least a foot taller than his partner, no matter who she is. That will prove to be another challenge for Odom to overcome as he learns ballroom dancing.
Just a couple of days before his DWTS announcement, Odom told TMZ Sports that he was giving up candy and porn and “trying to be better.” Hopefully, DWTS will be an opportunity for redemption in the public eye and will inspire him to continue taking care of himself and “be better.”
Dancing With the Stars season 28 premieres live on Monday, September 16 at 8/7c on ABC.