In Defense of Minimalist King Lamar Odom’s Spartan Television Setup

Lamar Odom was locked into USA Basketball’s game against Germany yesterday and surely took great joy in watching Anthony Edwards go off. He made the crucial mistake of tweeting (Xing? Xeeting?) a picture of his television at halftime and was rewarded with a bunch of people dunking on him because his setup was not to their exacting standards.

So we got headlines like Internet Brutally Roasts Lamar Odom For Post Showing Off His Home Living Room Setup where a bunch of people who care deeply about how other people watch television in their own homes fired off their jokes.

But here’s the thing. Odom’s aesthetic is perfectly fine. Aspirational, really. Every dude lives in an apartment like this. And then they would kill to live in an apartment like this again once their home becomes impossibly cluttered.

My wife is a designer and our home is undoubtably beautiful. There’s also a lot of greenery and clay pots and picture frames that distract me when I’m trying to stream Your Honor or follow my Minnesota Timberwolves-Utah Jazz third-quarter over bets. It’s a tiny cross to bear yet a cross no less. When I look at how unencumbered Odom must be, free of the trappings and business that permeates every corner of my life, there’s some real envy.

Any television is a fine television if it is working in proper order and can show the game.

Think of the people in your life who are most obsessive about their yards or home theater setups and then really take stock to decide if those are endearing qualities. Or if you’d much prefer they roll with the punches and be content in an environment as it is.

If anything, Odom is a minimalist king. A visionary. Hope he enjoyed the game.