Cam’ron has questioned whether Lamar Odom’s past drug addiction helped or hindered his basketball performance.
The Harlem rapper addressed the topic in the latest episode of It Is What It Is, just days after Odom spoke candidly about his past cocaine use and the effect drugs had on his career.
Cam praised Odom as one of the biggest showmen in the league and questioned whether illicit substances played a part in his unique playing style. "So did that attribute to the game? Do you get that game without the drugs?" Cam asked. "We might not see that without the drugs."
The Dipset rapper underscored his argument by recalling a 2003 moment at the Bronx's Gauchos Gym, where Odom pulled a now-iconic Shammgod move.
"He’s always been one of them n***as that can handle the ball and do a bunch of things," Cam said. "To me, he has the best Shammgod outside of my n***a Shammgod [Wells], ever. When he Shammgod’d that n***a outside Gauchos Gym… he starts dancing; he knows how to entertain the crowd, as well. So, I don’t know if that’s from cocaine, but thank you, if it was."
Cam said Odom played with a sense of "freedom" — a type of inhibition that he thinks came from drugs.
"At the end of day, I enjoyed every minute watching Lamar Odom," he continued. "So, I don’t know if the drugs helped him or not, but he’s obviously saying it did him a disservice. I was very entertained with you on drugs. I don’t know if I’m gonna be entertained if you’re not on drugs. I don’t know."
Cam was responding to Odom’s recent comments on Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter's Cousins podcast. The 46-year-old said he began using drugs during his teens and continued to do so during the NBA offseasons.
"I'll keep it real with you, I loved drugs," he admitted. "You're talking to a real addict. I sniffed cocaine. … I had some great cocaine summers… That was my way of beating the system. Just partying hard during the summertime."
Odom said he was "100 percentage" convinced that drugs thwarted his NBA career and prevented him from achieving his longtime Hall of Fame dreams. He acknowledged that he still delivered on the court, as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers secure two championship wins (2009 and 2010), but he believed he could’ve gone further if he hadn’t struggled with addiction.
"I think about overall, like greatness and legacy, yeah ,I hurt that by abusing drugs, 100 percentage," he said. "But I'm gonna stand on that."