Lamar Odom says his return to the court could happen this summer -- telling TMZ Sports he wants to play in Ice Cube's BIG3 league as a tribute to Rasual Butler.
Lamar and the BIG3 have been circling each other for months. We were told Odom spoke with league honchos about a comeback last August ... and Cube told us he was 100% down if L.O. got in shape.
Unclear if Lamar's heeding Cube's advice -- he was spotted drinking and partying a lot in 2017 -- but Odom seems serious about giving it a shot ... 'cause now that he can't play with Rasual, he wants to play for him.
FYI, Odom considered Butler -- who was killed in a car crash on Jan. 31 -- his best NBA friend. He was among the stars who attended his funeral over the weekend.
There's still no official word from the BIG3 on Lamar. Stay tuned ...