The Official Site of Jordan Farmar

Tue, Jun 16th 2009, 10:13

Jordan's Playboy.com blog: Five on 5 - June 16, 2009

Hey guys, what can I say, I love L.A.! “Amazing happened,” as they said in the NBA commercials, and it’s just a beautiful feeling to be a world champion! I’m blogging from Orlando where some of our family and friends were flown in by the team to help celebrate our 15th franchise championship (with a 4-1 NBA Finals win over Orlando). Two of the games went to OT, three could’ve gone either way. Congrats to the Magic for an outstanding season.

But it’s now about my team, the Los Angeles Lakers. From Game Six of last year’s Finals, we were focused like a band of brothers, we worked and sacrificed all season and it paid off. And now this title is very special. It means everything to me. I grew up in L.A. a huge Lakers fan, watching NBA games like you guys when you turn on the TV. I grew up living and breathing in the excitement, history and championships. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life, lol! I’m an unabashed, diehard Lakers fan who played on indoor and outdoor courts for all hours, dreaming about making it to the NBA, dreaming that one day I’d be in a similar situation as the guys I was watching on TV winning the three-peat (2000-2002), that I’d be playing for an NBA championship. But I never imagined that I’d be doing it for my team, the Lakers. Just amazing!

To be an NBA Champion at 22 years old, playing for your boyhood team, living in your hometown, it’s just really special. But life for me is not just about the destination. I’ve always concerned myself with the journey and the steps I need to take to get there. Getting to this destination, well, that’s the real icing. Like I said, it’s something I’ve dreamed of since being a kid playing pick-up ball.

Coach Phil Jackson now has 10 NBA titles as a coach, more than anyone else, and Kobe and Fish each now have four titles together. Fish says what’s key about coach is that he “empowers you to be who you are.” As for Kobe, he was the MVP and he is incredibly deserving. He led us in points and assists, averaging almost 32 points, six rebounds and seven/eight assists in the Finals. He was the leader, along with Fish. You also got to give credit to the whole team, everybody has done their part, little by little.

My personal MVP pick would be Trevor Ariza. He’s only 23, got his first starting role in the playoffs, and he brought it at both ends. He’s been asked to guard our opponents’ best player every night. In the third quarter of Game Four when we came back from a 12-point deficit, he also shot the ball lights out. He averaged 15 points in our last three games. He’s tough on the boards, and did all the other things like getting deflections and steals, everything it takes to help win a championship for us.

I feel good about my contributions. I actually scored a couple points in a Finals-clinching game, lol! Overall in the Series, I led the reserves in scoring off the bench in one game, gave some energy, some assists, help spell Fish, took their guards out of the game, got them out of their rhythm, I tried to do all the little things. Game One and Two, I played only the first half. Game Three, I had a chance to play about 16 minutes. I felt really good, shot the ball well, scored 11 points, dished out some assists. I was unsure when I’d get called on but I’ve been supportive where I could be, putting my heart and soul into being a Lakers fan and being a Lakers player. When my teammates are out there, I’m cheering them on just like everybody else. And when I’m out there, I’ll take a charge, make a good pass, pop in a three-pointer or a layup off a steal, give my teammates something to cheer about. Just play the right way. Hey, I play for the Lakers, it’s my dream come true.

Lakers great Magic Johnson told us that after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in ’84, the next season, they were so focused, that it was going to be a “taking care of business” year. That’s what it was for us this year after losing to the Celtics in the Finals last year. All that mattered for us was getting the title. It wouldn’t have mattered if we had the best record in the West and won the Western finals, and then not won the championship. It’s hard to quantify what we did differently, but it’s about an experience level. Like Lamar has said, experience is the best teacher.

Because we’ve been there before, we know what it takes, we’re aware of past mistakes that left us a little short last year. Every game in the playoffs is important, even though it’s not one and done. Every possession is crucial. Simple things like a free throw are crucial. We won Game Two at the charity stripe and two missed free throws by Dwight Howard helped set up our win in Game Four. We learned last year about these little things, like not giving up a big lead and letting it come back to bite you. We used all of that as our motivation.

Now we’re looking forward to soaking it up back in L.A., hopefully, have a parade and then look forward to the summer.

Also, this summer, I have some exciting events going on with my Foundation, like the Inaugural Jordan Farmar Celebrity Golf Classic and Gala July 19-20. Some of the celebs confirmed for the tournament included Jack Nicholson, George Lopez, Rob Morrow and Anthony Anderson.

Check out the info at my website and come out for a good cause.