[9] Coming out of high school, Kamara was considered to be one of the top running back prospects in the nation.

[11] As a senior he committed to play college football at the University of Alabama under head coach Nick Saban.

[13] He had knee surgery during the preseason, then redshirted as a true freshman when he was unable to break into a recruitment class that featured three other future NFL running backs in Derrick Henry, T. J. Yeldon, and Kenyan Drake.

[14][15] Due to "behavioral issues", Saban banned Kamara from practicing with the team and suspended him from their bowl game.

[16] In 2014, Kamara transferred from Alabama to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas for his redshirt freshman season.

[18] His successful season with Blue Dragons propelled Kamara to one of the top JUCO prospects in the nation.

[20] As a redshirt sophomore, Kamara played in all 13 games and shared the backfield with Jalen Hurd and John Kelly.

In the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol, he had six touches for 34 yards and one touchdown in the 45–24 victory over Virginia Tech.

[42] In the regular season finale against Vanderbilt, he had three total touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) and 141 scrimmage yards in the 45–34 defeat.

[46] Kamara achieved the highest Wonderlic test score of running backs participating in the NFL Combine that year.

[13] He participated at Tennessee's Pro Day, but chose to only run positional routes, the short shuttle, and three-cone drill with 19 other teammates in front of representatives and scouts from every team.

[47] He attended five private workouts and visits held by the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles.

[60] Kamara split backfield duties with Mark Ingram II through the 2017 season, with fewer carries but more receptions than his teammate.

On the first drive of the Week 13 match-up with the Atlanta Falcons, Kamara suffered a concussion and missed the rest of the game.

[69] On December 19, 2017, Kamara was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie alongside Mark Ingram II, becoming the first-ever pair of running backs from the same team to earn the honors.

Kamara and Ingram became the first running back duo in NFL history to each have over 1,500 scrimmage yards in the same season.

[79] In the Divisional Round against the Vikings, he had a 14-yard receiving touchdown from Drew Brees in the fourth quarter to put the Saints up 21–20.

[89] Ingram returned from suspension for Week 5 against the Washington Redskins and Kamara totaled 39 scrimmage yards in the 43–19 victory.

[92] In a Week 9 45–35 victory over the Rams, Kamara scored three total touchdowns in the first half (two rushing and one receiving).

[96] Kamara sat out Week 17 with the Saints having already clinched the first seed for the National Football Conference (NFC) playoffs.

[102] During the season-opener against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football, Kamara had 169 scrimmage yards in the Saints' 30–28 victory.

[113] The day before the Saints’ 2020 season opener Kamara signed a five-year contract extension worth $75 million.

[131] In the Divisional Round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kamara recorded 105 yards from scrimmage during the 30–20 loss.

[146] On August 4, 2023, Kamara was suspended for three games due to violating the league's personal conduct policy, which stemmed from his involvement in a physical altercation dating back to February 2022.

[147] On September 25, Kamara finished his suspension and was able to prepare for the Saints' upcoming game against division rival Buccaneers.

[154] He passed Mark Ingram for the most rushing touchdowns and Colston for the most scrimmage yards in franchise history.

[163] As of the 2023 NFL season: Kamara owns the Big Squeezy, a Louisiana-based juice and smoothie chain with locations in Baton Rouge, Hammond, Mandeville, and New Orleans.

6 JD Motorsports car in the Super Start Batteries 188 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.

[172] He became interested in the sport the previous year when NASCAR and its drivers participated in racial justice activism such as the sanctioning body's ban of the Confederate battle flag from race tracks and Bubba Wallace's Black Lives Matter-themed car.

[173] On February 6, 2022, following the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas, Kamara was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center for battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.