Lamar Odom has never lacked honesty when speaking about addiction, but his latest reflections cut deeper. In Netflix's 'Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom,' he returns to October 2015, a moment that still hangs over everything.
'My lungs collapsed and my kidneys ruptured. I was on life support... Everyone I'd ever loved was looking at me through bleary eyes.'
Odom's struggles had been building for years. Substance abuse threaded through his NBA career and his highly publicised marriage to Khloé Kardashian. The fame amplified it. The silence around it made it worse.
The documentary does not soften those edges. It leans into them.
Recovery That Refuses To Stay Straight
Sobriety, for Odom, has never followed a neat path. He has entered rehab more than once. He has slipped. He has started again.
January 2026 brought another jolt. He was arrested on a DUI charge, his second after a 2013 case, and has pleaded not guilty. A trial is set for July. The timing felt grim, almost cyclical.
Soon after, he checked into a 30-day rehabilitation programme in Los Angeles, this time focusing on marijuana use. His manager described it as a 'personal decision' to 'reset and focus on his health,' adding that he is taking 'full responsibility' and working towards a healthier path.
Holding On To Sobriety
He recently said he is '56 or 57 days' sober. It sounds tentative, as if even counting the days carries weight. 'No alcohol, no pot, no marijuana. And I'm just [continuing] to grow mentally and spiritually.'
He talks about Kobe Bryant when he explains his mindset, emphasising discipline and resilience. The so-called Mamba mentality, repurposed for survival rather than sport.
Still, he does not pretend it is easy. He admits relapse is always within reach. 'I've come too far to take a step back.'
The film also brings in Khloé Kardashian, whose account adds a different kind of gravity. They are messy, uncomfortable, and difficult to ignore.
'I was either looking for him in alleys, looking for him in motels,' she said. 'He would have tinfoil cutouts or spoons, and freebasing things, and leaving things everywhere. I remember needing to go to hotel rooms to clean up after him, so the housekeeping didn't sell a story.'
Kardashian also reflects on her own role. 'I remember just keeping all these secrets and feeling horrible about myself,' she says. 'He overdosed a few times, I had to pump his stomach. We had at-home detox centres. We did everything we could.'
Odom, for his part, goes even further, claiming he experienced 'the afterlife' during his overdose. Whether taken literally or not, it speaks to how close he believes he came to the end.
Life After Survival
Odom insists he is not the same man. 'I'm not the same person. I do everything in my strength to protect my sobriety.'
What makes his journey compelling is not success. It is persistence. The repeated decision to keep going, even after setbacks that would derail most people.
For now, he measures progress in days. In small wins. In staying present.
It may not sound like much. For someone who has stood on the edge of death, it is everything.
