Lamar Odom was always there for his teammates on the court. According to Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, that is part of the reason why so many of his former teammates are there for him now, off the hardwood and at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas, where Odom remains hospitalized.

Right before an exhibition game in China last week, Rivers raised the topic of Odoms reported drug overdose with his Clippers, the franchise that drafted Odom into the NBA in 1999.

Lamar had it right on the court, Rivers explained. Hes the exact opposite of half the players -- they dont get it right on the floor. They dont figure out how to play for their teammates and to be a great teammate. Most guys never get that. Thats what Lamar had. Thats why everyone is so emotional; he is a great teammate you hear [that] now. Los Angeles lost by 42 in the hours after the discussion, and the loss seemed to be of the least importance.

In the hours and days following Odoms hospitalization on Tuesday night, stories detailing Odoms warmhearted nature poured in, seemingly by the dozen. Everyone from fans to former rivals , past teammates to in-laws shared anecdotes about L.O., leading up to the good news on Friday that he had awoken from his four-day coma and communicated with estranged wife Khloe Kardashian .

Once he left the floor, thats where he has a lot of demons, Rivers continued. We talked about it a lot. I dont know if that was the right conversation to have before a preseason game because the guys were very emotional about it, but I just thought it was the right thing to do.

As soon as the Clippers returned from China last Wednesday, big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan headed east again -- this time to Vegas, to visit the then comatose Odom .

I think he has an impact on everybody, Griffin said. Its not something thats fun to talk about, but we wanted to be there for support He probably [had] no idea we were there, but just to be there and to see him, hopefully he knows theres a lot of guys that love him and want to see him do better and want to see him get better.