It was Wednesday night, June 28, 2006, when the Los Angeles Lakers picked Jordan Farmar with the No. 26 overall pick in the NBA Draft. As expected, Farmar’s phone rang all night as family, relatives, and friends congratulated the youngster just out of UCLA on making it to the pros. Right around that time, his phone rang again, but… it wasn’t just any caller. It was Kobe Bryant this time.
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“That was the best way to start my career, to get a phone call from the best player in the NBA,” Farmar said at a news conference. “It wasn’t long at all. About 5 minutes. It was very meaningful to me.”
Farmar later revealed that he had just said, “What’s up, man? It’s Kobe. Welcome to the Lakers. Are you ready to get to work?” It didn’t take Kobe much effort to make that call. But it was these small gestures that brought the team together. Farmar went on to win two championships wearing a Purple and Gold jersey, and nearly two decades later, the point guard is returning to LA, just not on the hardwood, but in a different capacity.
Farmar is returning to the broadcast team as an analyst for select road games on Spectrum SportsNet, according to Khobi Price of the California Post.
Years ago, Farmar joined the Lakers during the peak of Kobe Bryant’s era. He was assigned to the D-League and eventually worked his way up. By April of his first season, Farmar became the first player to play in both a D-League and an NBA game on the same day. He never really cracked the starting spot, but was an effective backup initially to Smush Parker and then to Derek Fisher.
Farmar was a hard worker, ready to put in the hard yards. He realized in his first season that his shooting was letting him down. Well, he wasn’t waiting for anyone to tell him he needed to improve…
“I’m just trying to shorten [my shot], square my shoulders up and just knock it down,” Farmar said. “It’s all hand-eye coordination, and I believe in my ability.”
In his second season, Farmar played in all 82 games, shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc, up by at least four percent in both categories from his first season.
Years later, Farmar admitted that Kobe was “very influential” early in his career, and he called the sheer privilege of having him in the locker room a “blessing.”
“More so his work ethic and just determination, will to win,” Farmar said. “His willpower is what separates him from the rest of the people in this business. He’s very, very, very talented. His skill level’s incredible. But he just has the will to work to be the best.”
During those years, the Lakers reached the NBA Finals three straight times, from 2008 to 2010. They lost the 2008 Finals to the Boston Celtics. But they bounced back in the next two seasons, winning the 2009 and 2010 Larry O’Brien titles.
Farmar was part of both championship teams. His career-high scoring game (at the time) off the bench came during their second victory season, when he scored 24 points, shooting 8 of 14 from the field and 6 of 8 from three-point range. The Lakers won that game comfortably, 131–96, against the Dallas Mavericks.
But the UCLA alum’s first Lakers stint ended after the 2009-10 season. He then played for the New Jersey Nets from 2010 to 2012 before moving overseas to Maccabi Tel Aviv and Anadolu Efes. He later returned to the Lakers for the 2013-14 season, for his second stint in Los Angeles. He then played for the Clippers and several other teams before calling it a day on his NBA career in 2017.
Looking back on his championship journey, Farmar understood that Kobe welcomed every young player because it was in his nature to do so, but he also tested them.
“He’ll push your buttons,” Farmar said. “Just to see how you’re going to respond. He wants to see if you’re going to back down from the fight.”
Beyond the two Larry O’Brien titles, Farmar also succeeded in college at UCLA. In 2005, he won the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award. In 2006, he earned First-Team All-Pac-10 honors and received AP Honorable Mention All-American recognition.
In the NBA, he played 504 regular-season games, scoring 3,888 points, dishing out 1,453 assists and grabbing 958 rebounds. He averaged 7.7 points, 2.9 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game over 10 seasons.
Farmar also won the Israeli League Cup twice with Maccabi Tel Aviv, in 2011 and 2015.
Now, he is returning to the Lakers. As a former player, two-time NBA champion, and Kobe Bryant teammate, Farmar brings a different kind of personal experience beyond calling plays, and he will share it with fans through LA broadcasts.