Lamar Odom has regained consciousness and is communicating--speaking and even giving a thumbs up from his hospital bed--just days after being found in extremely critical condition at a Nevada brothel, loved ones said.

It’s the first significant update on Mr. Odom’s health since he was found unconscious and facedown at the Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada, on Tuesday afternoon.

Alvina Alston, publicist for JaNean Mercer, Mr, Odom’s maternal aunt and godmother, said Mr. Odom spoke a greeting and gave a thumbs-up Friday morning, his first communication since being hospitalized in Las Vegas.

“He woke up and he spoke,” Ms. Alston said.

A person who is close to his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to release details of Mr. Odom’s condition to the press, also said he was able to say hi to Ms. Kardashian.

His former coach Jim Harrick in Los Angeles, who said Mr. Odom sounded upbeat on a call just a few weeks ago, said Ms. Kardashian told him that Mr. Odom is off dialysis and he showed a response when she reached down to say, “Lamar, I love you.”

“Khloe has promised me she’s going to stay by his bedside until she and him can walk out of the hospital together,” Mr. Harrick said.

Authorities are retracing Mr. Odom’s $75,000, three-day visit to the brothel that started late afternoon Saturday, with blood test results to determine what caused his medical episode pending.

The brothel’s owner and spokesman have said he chose two women to accompany him in a VIP suite on his first visit to the ranch. Mr. Odom had said he had done cocaine before his arrival, and people at the brothel said they saw him drink alcohol and take as many as 10 supplements sold as “herbal Viagra.” One brand that he took, Reload, was the subject of a 2013 warning from the Food and Drug Administration, which said the pill contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in prescription Viagra.

The brothel also said he became upset Sunday after a phone call in which his ex’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” show was mentioned. But he was generally in a good mood, even suggesting that he stay an entire week at the brothel in the rural community.

Mr. Odom was then found unconscious there Tuesday with white and reddish substances coming from his nose and mouth. He was breathing and taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas.

The former NBA star had been a beloved member of the Los Angeles Lakers, winning two championships with the team and enjoying widespread fame as a reality-TV star before his recent downward spiral, which included leaving pro basketball, a pending divorce with Ms. Kardashian and a DUI arrest.

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