Jordan Farmar

About Jordan Farmar

Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. At 6'2" (1.88 m) and 180 lb (82 kg), he was previously the starting point guard for the UCLA men's basketball team.

Farmar was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, former baseball player Damon Farmar (an outfielder who was a second round draft pick in both 1982 and '83), is African-American. He and his mother, Melinda Kolani, and his Israeli stepfather, Yehuda Kolani, are Jewish. He has stated that he inherited his competitive drive from his father and mentor, Damon Farmar, who played football and baseball at University High and baseball in the minor leagues. The younger Farmar spent countless hours in his father's clubhouses, hanging out with his father's teammates, and watching his father play. Farmar attended Portola Middle School in Tarzana and Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, before transferring his sophomore year to Taft High School in Woodland Hills, a suburban community of the San Fernando Valley within Los Angeles. He then decided to play college ball at UCLA and eventually went on to the NBA with the LA Lakers.

At Taft High School, Farmar scored a record 54 points in a single game. As a senior, he averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 assists and led Taft to the school's first Los Angeles City title. He was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and LA City Co-Player of the Year, and the California Interscholastic Federation Los Angeles City Section High School Player of the Year. He also earned USA Today Super 25 selection, Parade Magazine 2nd-team All-American, Slam Magazine Honorable Mention All-American, CalHi Sports All-State honors, and the Southern California Jewish Athlete of the Year. . He was also a teammate with current New York Giants WR Steve Smith. Additionally, he was selected to play in the McDonald's High School All American game, where he scored 6 points, dished out 3 assists and snagged 7 steals in 19 minutes of playing time.