Throwback Thursday: Peja Stojakovic
Welcome to the fifth edition of Throwback Thursday here on A Royal Pain! Today’s edition belongs to former Kings forward, Peja Stojakovic!
Welcome back, everyone, to the next edition of Throwback Thursday on A Royal Pain where every Thursday we go back in time and reminisce a former Sacramento Kings great. Today is the fifth installment, the previous four belonged to Doug Christie, Mike Bibby, Jason Williams and Chris Webber! Today belongs to Peja Stojakovic, who was voted by my Twitter followers so make sure to follow me, @TheSanjeshSingh, to have your say on the next edition! So without further ado, let’s roll with Peja!
The Player
Peja Stojakovic was born June 9, 1977, in Yugoslavia where he eventually played ball for Red Star Belgrade (Yugoslavia) and PAOK (Greece).
In 1998, Peja was selected in the first round as the 14th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. He played eight total seasons for the Kings while also appearing for the Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans), Dallas Mavericks and the Toronto Raptors. His #16 jersey was officially retired by the Kings in 2014, which was very well-deserved.
The Numbers
Peja was known to be a lethal scorer. As a 6’10” small forward, he had a significant height advantage which was used to perfection.
Career Averages: 17 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 45% field goal shooting, 40% three-point shooting, 90% free throw shooting.
Peja’s best overall season came in his 2003-2004 campaign with the Kings where he averaged 24.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals a game while shooting 48% from the floor, 43% from three-point range, and 93% from the free-throw line.
Accolades
Peja received many accolades throughout his career, both in the NBA and back in Europe. He won the NBA Championship in 2011 with the Mavericks, the most sought-after accolade in my books. Other accolades include:
- 3x NBA All-Star (2002-2004)
- All NBA 2nd Team (2004)
- 2x NBA 3-point shooting champion (2002-2003)
- EuroBasket MVP (2001)
- Greek League MVP (1998)
- 2x Mister Europa Player of the Year Award (2001-2002)
- Euroscar Award (2001)
- Euroleague Top Scorer (1998)
- Yugoslavian Most Valuable Young Player (1994)
And of course having your jersey retired is one heck of an accomplishment too. #ForeverAKing
The Wrap-Up
Peja Stojakovic is definitely one of the greatest Kings forwards/players of all-time. A player worthy of winning a championship and definitely worth being on this series! Peja gave us Kings fans so many memories that we surely miss today.
Just a random thought, but doesn’t Peja remind anyone of Bogdan Bogdanovic? It’s just a thought, but imagine if Bogdan can become the next foreign great for the Kings!
Thank you, everyone, for reading and I hope to see you again next week. Make sure to follow me on Twitter to vote for the next player on Throwback Thursday!