The Official Site of Jordan Farmar

Updates

Fri, Nov 21st 2008, 12:17

Jordan's Playboy.com blog - five on 5

Hey, wassup?

November 4 was my first time voting. It was great, especially to be part of such a historical event. To be a person of color in this country is a big thing, and a lot of us never thought that we’d see, in our lifetime, the election of a multi-cultural person to the country’s highest office.

I’m a multi-cultural kid, my dad’s black and my mom’s white. I was born and bred in L.A. I’ve been there, done that. But to play a small part in the election of Mr. Obama was thrilling. I was fortunate to have introduced him at a fundraiser. I got to meet him, hang out with him; he knew who I was, talked to me about basketball. He still plays ball and I think he considers himself a gym rat. It was an amazing experience.

We had practice on Election Day, but made sure we had time to go vote. I was at home relaxing when I heard the news that he’d won. It’s all very promising. As usual his speech that night was inspirational. He’s a tremendous speaker, and it was very powerful. A lot of the history of this country goes behind Mr. Obama’s election. And this opens up all kinds of opportunities for everybody. I think that for us here and people around the world, the first thing that’s going to happen is a change of attitude.

In the business we’re in, pro sports, teams switch coaches because they feel they need a change in philosophy. That was big for us Americans, that we made a change, tried something different, and it’s going to affect us in a lot of ways. For instance, people like me, I make quite a bit of money — over that $250,000 Obama was talking about — well, we’re going to be facing more taxes, things like that. But as long as we can get this whole country moving in the right direction, I’m in ‘cause we’ll all benefit in the long run.

Same thing with the Lakers this season. Everyone is doing their part to sacrifice for the greater goal of winning the championship. We understand that if we end up achieving that goal, then all the sacrifice, the blood, sweat and tears, it will all be worth it. So we all buy into it.

We started off this young season with seven straight wins before we lost our first game — hey, we weren’t going to go 82-0 — but the key to our success this season is buying into the team concept.

Our opening night’s theme was “This Year, This Team. . . This Time is Ours” and because the Lakers organization likes us to interact as much as we can with the fans, they asked me to address the crowd. I said, “Everybody in the building knows we left off on the wrong foot last year. So we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

In our eighth game, Kobe surpassed legend Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list. Shaq recently said that Kobe’s “developed to be the best player in the league, by far.” I say, he’s the best player in the world. Period.
We were ranked #19 on defense last year — from the beginning of training camp we talked about defense, and about what it’s going to take. Most of us hadn’t been to the Finals before. Now we’ve been down the road, we know how important it really is to have home-court advantage in the playoffs, and other little things that you really don’t understand until you go through it yourself.

We’re all a little bit more professional than we were last year, and we hold each other accountable and police ourselves. We know what we have to be to achieve the level of greatness needed to win the championship.

Kobe was league MVP last season, the very best during the regular season. He works extremely hard at his craft. And he’s becoming more unselfish, like all of us, because he’s realizing that the only way to win more championships is to let us help him. He sees a lot of talent around him and he’s starting to understand that and let us support him.

I started practicing yoga about a year and a half ago. My yoga instructor Kent Katich thinks yoga can be any athlete’s secret weapon. I’m hooked. I find it helps you work on your strength and flexibility, and surprisingly there’s a lot of cardio. You’re breaking a sweat in the first five minutes, moving into different positions, working on body control. There’s also a big mental aspect, especially when you’re holding a position — there’s days when it just kills — so you need intense mental focus to get it done, and you get into a zone. And that mental strength helps when 20,000 people are screaming at you. You’re able to lock in your focus and do what you have to do. If you’re interested, NBA Access had a feature on players, including me, who are using yoga to give themselves a competitive edge.

Lamar Odom recently was quoted saying, “the better you do, the more days off.” That is 100 percent true. If we play well, coach has us go through the things he wants us to do, then he gives us time off. But he still wants us to be professional, stay ready. If we don’t play well, we get more work to get sharper, and we use more practice time to do that.

What am I listening to on my iPod? I love R&B and hip-hop and I’m also getting turned onto classic and indie rock. I’m a big fan of Kanye West and his cool sports-related song “Champion” has a sample from “Kid Charlemagne” by a classic band, Steely Dan.

Because of our schedule and our travel — on planes, in hotels — we get to see all the new movies. I just saw Role Models, with Paul Rudd. I loved that movie, hilarious all the way around with Paul and Seann William Scott, the kid actors, everybody. Man, I like to laugh. Let me know what you’ve heard or seen recently.

Thanks for checking out my first “Five on 5” blog. In the coming weeks, we’ll talk about what I like in girls, about fashion, videogames and about “Cali’s Finest.

There will be new dish from me every Tuesday.

— JFARM.

Jordan’s blog appears every Tuesday on Playboy.com


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Comments

Savannah Smith | on 30/11/08

I think you are truly becoming a force to be recokoned with. You are an all around great player&are my favorite player. I hope you continue to improve&have a great season with the best team ever.

by the way happy birthday.

p.s.:for my AP class i had to write about someone that i liked and admired..i chose you i hope you like it:
It all begins on the hardwood with a buzzer. The warm-up shooting shirt gets quickly removed and tossed to the ground. He is finally in, after what seemed like an eternity on the cushion-chaired bench. He is passed the ball from a teammate. The choice is now his. Will he demonstrate his keen driving skills and take it to the basket; his shots are those that are so exhilarating that they constantly energize everyone in the confines of the arenas he plays in. Or will he choose to be generous, as always, and make the game-changing assist. His assist could potentially give his team an advantage and maybe even a victory. Instead he continues his swift descent across the court, like a cheetah gracefully sprinting across the great lands of the savannas of Africa. He proceeds, skillfully faking-out the opposition. He passes the ball with a quick, sharp snap and in the fraction of the second after, he sets up the perfect screen. He follows next by making a play for the best in the game. Then something within his mind, a mind exploding with beautiful ideas, clicks into place. The gears are turning so fast that he has difficulty thinking clearly. But he thoughtfully pulls it together at the last second, and decides that he will take it down court himself. He releases the ball, but it does not go in. But he is determined. As soon as the ball ricochets off the rim’s edge, his fingertips clamp down on the ball and secure the rebound. However, the most nerve-racking part is not over; now he must rush his body to the basket. He pushes himself to exhaustion, yet he carefully maps out the strides he is going to take to the hoop. He pump fakes to his left, and drives hard down the center lane. He counts, “One, two…”, and by the time he reaches ‘two’, his entire body begins its flight to defy gravity. He extends his arm, perfectly toned, towards the basket, and with the greatest ease and grace he gently forces the ball into the basket. The crowd goes wild, as they exclaim whooping cheers and screams of delight. Over the speaker system, the announcer bellows, “Farmar with the beautiful finger roll lay-up!, Lakers take back the lead!”

Donna Aspuria | on 25/11/08

You’re doing a great job this season. And it’s almost your birthday! Happy early birthday, Jordan! I ALWAYS yell for you at the games. Keep the good work up.

Bianette | on 25/11/08

Hey you!! I have to admit that I watch the Laker games every chance I get just to watch you play. You’re a great athlete and so much more. What I admire most is that you are so well spoken, and let me tell you it’s one of your best qualities. You seem like an interesting person to be around and I’m sure you are, it’s just too bad I’ll never experience that haha :o) Anyways take care and don’t party too much on our birthday, or just party enough for both of us :o)

-Bia

Sonja | on 24/11/08

I recently saw you in a certain magazine with a suit and pink tie. All I have to say is WOW!!!!!!!!

Regina | on 24/11/08

Through some tough times, you made me happy to be a Bruin fan again! Then you were drafted to my favorite NBA team and it was like a dream come true!! I love watching you play, you’re amazing!

Isabel | on 23/11/08

I LOVE JORDAN FARMAR!!!!!GO LAKERS!!!!!

jennah | on 23/11/08

I have been a Laker since I can remember and I will admit that when the Lakers first drafted you out of UCLA I really wasn’t feeling your game. But during that season I grew to respect noth your game and you as a person. I apologize for not liking you at first but with such a quality individual I find it impossible for someone not to like you on and off the court. Keep up the great work and GO LAKERS!!!!

Frankie D | on 23/11/08

Hello Mr. Farmar,

You are absolutely the best young player in the NBA. I could see you being a true superstar in the coming years. My wife was also impressed with your interview skills on the red carpet for the “Bolt” movie.

Good game against the Kings. We noticed that you stepped up the defense in the 4th quarter. Keep up the good work!!

Frankie D

Helen Idowu | on 23/11/08

you rock

Helen Idowu | on 23/11/08

I love the way you play basketball. You inspire me to do so well. I reallllyy want to meet you so badly. id love if you could give me some basketball advice. It has been my dream to meet you. Again you inspire me to push onward. your a great romodel. you have a great heart. Jordan i can’t wait until you take the place of Derek F. I love the way you play. Your a great person,romodel,and a nice youg man, Your super cute too :)!!!!!!! love,
Helen Idowu

Jamille | on 23/11/08

GO LAKERS!

We Love You Jordan!

818 Represent!

Jessica | on 22/11/08

I think you are amazing! This is such a great idea and it is great to get to see a deeper more personal side of #5. I am extremely excited for the Tuesday dish each week! I love food and I lov e to create new things. I look forward to learning more about you. Role Models was so funny! Great movie. Anyway, I would be interested in knowing where some of your favorite places to play are (besides LA) as well as some of the most interesting places you have visited. It would also be nice to know what you look for in a woman, very excited for that one! I know you like to travel and do alot with childrens charities and intercity youth which as a teacher I fully appreciate. Also Happy early B-DAY!!! Have a great 22nd birthday! I turn 22 just 12 days after you and I will see you at the game that night!

Idean | on 22/11/08

Yo,
nice blog Jordan. I too, being of persian decent am excited about being part of the generation who voted for the first multi-cultural president. Entourage season finale is tommorow and i’m really excited about that. Have you heard 808’s and heartbreaks yet? It’s a lot different than Kanye’s previous albums but it has grown on me alot. BTW, what kind of indie rock you listening to? Later

Ginnie | on 22/11/08

Hey there! I really enjoyed reading your first “Five on 5” blog. I found it to be very interesting and entertaining. I especially loved reading about your thoughts on the election and President- elect Obama. I can’t believe you got the opportunity to meet him; that’s amazing. :)

It was also nice to see what type of music you’re in to. I myself enjoy all sorts of music. Since you’re exploring some classic rock though, I would definitely recommend downloading Boston, The Doors, and Led Zeppelin!

Duece | on 21/11/08

The squad looks good this year man. I enjoy watching you and Trevor get out run. Is it tough for a true point guard like yourself to play in the triangle? it just seems that it turns a point guard into a spot up 3 point shooter. Are they going to air the Adidas run commercial that was filmed at Pauley?
let me know,
thanks man

Kimiko | on 21/11/08

I just wanted to say that you guys are doing an exceptional job on defense. Also, I really like how aggressive you’ve been this season, seems to really be paying off. I’m not much of a music expert nor have I seen Role Models YET, but I love basketball and am looking forward to reading your blogs. I hope to one day be able to meet you and perhaps even shoot around or play HORSE. Keep playing hard and I will always support the Lakers. I still can’t believe how deep of a bench we have.