The Official Site of Jordan Farmar

Jordan's Journey

Jordan Robert Farmar was born on November 30th, 1986, in Los Angeles, to Damon Farmar and Melinda Baker. From birth, it seems that Jordan was destined to become a professional athlete. Although his father Damon and godfather, Cincinnati Reds out-fielder Eric Davis, both played professional baseball, it was clear from a very early age that Jordan’s first love was basketball. Some of Jordan’s earliest basketball memories are of watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Jordon idolized Michael and said, “Like many in the early 1990’s, Michael Jordan was one of my favorite athletes. The aspect of his game that I admired the most was his penchant for taking clutch shots. Whenever the game was on the line, he always seemed to have the ball in his hands.”

Jordan began to carve out his niche on the Los Angeles Basketball landscape during high school. During his junior season at Taft High School in Los Angeles, Jordan averaged 29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4.5 steals per game while leading Taft to an impressive 26-5 record. During the summer of 2003, Jordan competed at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he averaged 14 points and was the festival leader in assists and steals. Jordan also had an impressive showing at the 2003 Bob Gibbons AAU Tournament. Jordan led his team, Pump n’ Run, to the tournament championship game where they beat the Atlanta Celtics, an AAU team that featured current NBA superstar Dwight Howard. During his senior season, Jordan led Taft to the Los Angeles City Championship while averaging 28 points and 7 assists per game. Jordan’s stellar play earned him various honors, including the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year, a USA Today Super 25 Selection, a spot on the McDonald’s All American team, and the Southern California Jewish Player of the Year.

After high school, Jordan continued his basketball career at UCLA, where he earned the starting point guard position in his freshman year. Jordan averaged an impressive 13.2 points and 5.8 assists per game while playing 34 minutes per contest. He led all Pac-10 freshmen in scoring, assists, free throw percentage and minutes played while earning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors and helping UCLA get into the NCAA tournament. In his sophomore year, Jordan had a stellar season which culminated with an impressive run in the NCAA tournament. Jordan’s steady play at point guard, along with his leadership skills, were key components of UCLA’s drive to the NCAA National Championship game against the University of Florida. On April 20, 2006, Jordan declared for the 2006 NBA draft.
On draft day, Jordan was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 26th pick. His athleticism and court awareness, along with his ability to run the triangle offense, earned him significant minutes in the 2006-2007 season despite Coach Phil Jackson’s legendary reluctance to play rookies. That season, Jordan established himself as a reliable and productive NBA player.

Jordan’s role on the Lakers increased significantly during the 2007-2008 season. After averaging 4.4 points and 1.9 assists per game during his rookie season, his numbers jumped to 9.1 points and 2.7 assists per game during his second year. Jordan was the leader of the Lakers’ ‘Bench Mob’, one of the most productive benches in all of the NBA. Jordan was also a vital component of the Lakers’ run to the NBA Finals. Though the Lakers were defeated by the Celtics in the Finals, Jordan looks forward to leading the Lakers to a return trip to the NBA Finals and to an NBA Championship this season. As Jordan continues to grow his legacy throughout Southern California, he will figure prominently into the Lakers’ plans to bring the NBA Championship back to Los Angeles