Lakers jersey history No. 1 — Jordan Farmar
As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
This article takes a look at a key reserve guard many Lakers fans will likely remember fondly — Jordan Farmar.
Farmar is a local product who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills. He spent two seasons at the University of California, Los Angeles, and he was named to the All-Pac-10 first team while helping the Bruins reach the men's NCAA championship game during the 2005-06 season.
The Lakers took him late in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. At the time, they were badly in need of depth as they retooled around Kobe Bryant, and while Farmar struggled as a rookie, he started to make an impact in his second season. That year, he averaged 9.1 points and 2.7 assists in 20.6 minutes a game while shooting 46.1% from the field and 37.1% from 3-point range.
The Lakers, buoyed by the acquisition of Hall of Fame big man Pau Gasol, reached the 2008 NBA Finals, only to lose in six games to their archrivals, the Boston Celtics. But Farmar had established himself as a key member of a bench unit that was starting to look impressive.
Over the next two seasons, the 6-foot-2 point guard played a significant role in L.A. winning back-to-back world championships, including one over the Celtics. He spent the next two seasons with the New Jersey Nets and had brief stints with Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2011 NBA lockout and Anadolu Efes in the Turkish League during the 2012-13 season before returning to the Lakers for the 2013-14 campaign.
After subsequent stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, Farmar's NBA career ended. He finished with career averages of 7.7 points and 2.9 assists in 19.5 minutes per game.
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