Lamar Odom Hospital Update: Will He End Up Like Friend Jamie Sangouthai?

Update 10:20 p.m. EDT: The Nye County (Nevada) Sheriff's Office issued an official statement about Odom’s hospitalization. They confirmed that the former L.A. Lakers star was found unresponsive at Dennis Hof’s Bunny Ranch and hospitalized at Desert View Hospital. He was then transferred to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas for further treatment.

Original Story:

Former Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom has the support of his fans. Netizens took to Twitter after reports claimed that the athlete was rushed to the hospital after being discovered unconscious in a Nevada brothel Tuesday.

The Lakers haven’t issued an official statement on Odom’s health status. They ignored the alleged health scare and instead focused on their current players. The team posted a Vine video of Kobe Bryant, and the rest of the team headed off to the court, where they were set to take on the Sacramento Kings in a preseason game at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Behind the scenes, O.C. Register reporter Bill Oram said the Lakers were aware of Odom’s condition. “Reports of Odom's hospitalization have reached the Lakers locker room, with staffers trying to find out to which hospital he's being taken,” he tweeted. “Lakers spokesman John Black says team obviously aware of Odom reports and monitoring situation ‘as best we can and, yes, concerned’" Oram added. A statement about Odom will be released by the Nye County, Nevada, Sheriff’s Office soon, he wrote.

His ex-wife, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star Khloé Kardashian, has not issued a statement either. Even though the couple’s divorced was finalized this year, they remain in contact.

Odom, 35, has reportedly battled substance abuse issues. He recently lost one of his best friends, Jamie Sangouthai, who died from “a flesh-eating disease caused by dirty needles,” TMZ wrote in June. "The exact terms are necrotizing fasciitis -- bacterial skin infection -- and chronic intravenous narcotism, which is IV drug abuse," the Los Angeles County Coroner told the site. Sangouthai reportedly struggled with drug use for some time. Kardashian, 31, addressed Sangouthai’s death on her E! network reality show and said that her ex-husband was struggling in last Sunday’s episode.

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