Peja Stojaković

Peja Stojaković
Пеђа Стојаковић

Stojaković with the Mavericks
No. 16
Small forward
Personal information
Date of birth	June 9, 1977 (1977-06-09)
Place of birth	Požega, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian-Greek
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career	1992–2011
Career history
1992–1994	Crvena zvezda (FR Yugoslavia)
1994–1998	PAOK (Greece)
1998–2006	Sacramento Kings
2006	Indiana Pacers
2006–2010	New Orleans Hornets
2010–2011	Toronto Raptors
2011	Dallas Mavericks
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (2011) Greek League MVP (1998) EuroBasket MVP (2001) 3x European Player of the Year: Euroscar Award winner (2001) 2× Mister Europa Player of the Year (2001–2002) 3× NBA All-Star (2002–2004) 2× NBA Three-Point Shootout champion (2002–2003) All-NBA Second Team (2004)
Career statistics
Points	13,647
Rebounds	3,782
Assists	1,408
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Competitor for Yugoslavia World Championship Gold 2002 Indianapolis National team European Championship Bronze 1999 France National team Gold 2001 Turkey National team

Predrag Stojaković (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Стојаковић, Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [predraːk stojaːkoʋitɕ]) (born June 9, 1977), also known by his nickname Peja (Пеђа), is a Serbian-Greek former professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6 ft 10 (2.08 m), Stojaković played the small forward position. Known for his shooting abilities, he was the winner of the NBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout twice, and the first European-born player to win one of the All-Star Weekend competitions. Stojaković is fourth all-time in regular season three-point field goals made in the NBA.

After playing for KK Crvena zvezda and PAOK BC basketball club, Stojaković was drafted fourteenth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1996 NBA Draft. After two seasons on the bench, he had a breakthrough season in 2000–01, averaging 20.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting .400 from three-point range in his first season as a starter. He finished second in voting for the 2001 Most Improved Player Award. A three-time All-star and a member of 2004 All-NBA Second Team, Stojaković enjoyed success with the Kings reaching 2002 Western Conference Finals. He also played for the Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets and Toronto Raptors. Stojaković won an NBA Championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

Stojaković led the Yugoslavian national team to gold medals in the 2001 EuroBasket and 2002 FIBA World Championship. Often considered to be one of the most successful Serbian basketball players, Peja was named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by the Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport and the Mister Europa European Player of the Year twice by the Italian sports magazine Superbasket.

On December 19, 2011 he announced his retirement.

Professional career

Stojaković was born to Miodrag and Branka Stojaković in Slavonska Požega, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia but his family fled to Belgrade during the Yugoslav wars. Stojaković played with Serbian giants KK Crvena zvezda for 2 senior seasons, and won a national championship.

PAOK (1994–1998)

Peja, as he was called during his time in PAOK, scored a memorable last-second three-pointer against Olympiacos in Piraeus in the 1998 Greek playoff semi-finals series, winning the match 58–55 for PAOK. That victory, which ended the five year reign of Olympiacos as Greek Champions, allowed PAOK to face Panathinaikos in the finals series, although the club had a disadvantage in home games and ultimately lost the series (and the league) 3–2. Stojaković was closely guarded throughout the series by his future coach in New Orleans, Byron Scott, who was wrapping up his basketball career as the top player for Panathinaikos, and did not play at his normal level.

In his final season with PAOK, Stojaković averaged 23.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals.

Sacramento Kings (1998–2006)

The 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Stojaković was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the first round (14th overall pick) of the 1996 NBA Draft while playing in Greece. He continued to play there until the Kings signed him prior to the 1998–99 NBA lockout season. After two seasons on the bench with Sacramento, he had a breakthrough season in 2000–01, averaging 20.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting .400 from three-point range in his first season as a starter. He finished second in voting for the 2001 Most Improved Player Award.

In 2001–02, he played in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time. His scoring average went up to 21.2 ppg, and he reached career highs in shooting percentage (.484) and three-point percentage (.416). His scoring average dropped slightly to 19.2 ppg in 2002–03, but he played again in the All-Star Game. In both seasons, he won the three-point shooting contest conducted during All-Star Weekend.

In 2003–04, Stojaković was again selected as an All-Star, and finished second in the league in scoring with a career-high 24.2 ppg. He finished fourth in MVP voting and was voted on to the All-NBA 2nd Team. He also led the NBA in free-throw percentage (.933) and three-pointers made for the season (240). In 2004–05, he missed 16 games to injury, and was somewhat hampered in several games, but still averaged 20.1 ppg.

Indiana Pacers (2006)

On January 25, 2006, Stojaković was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for forward Ron Artest, ending his eight-year tenure with the Kings. However, he missed four games of their first round playoff series with the New Jersey Nets, all losses.

New Orleans Hornets (2006–2010)

During the 2006 offseason, he re-signed with the Pacers, only to be traded to the then-New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the draft rights to Andrew Betts. On November 14, 2006, Stojaković scored a career-high 42 points against the Charlotte Bobcats, and became the first player in NBA history to open the game with 20 straight points for his team. He was soon sidelined for several months by injuries, including back surgery, as a result missing most of the 2006–07 season.

Toronto Raptors (2010–2011)

On November 20, 2010, Stojaković was traded to the Toronto Raptors along with Jerryd Bayless in exchange for Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks, and David Andersen.

After appearing in only two games, on January 20, 2011, Stojakovic was released by the Raptors. He had missed 26 games due to a left knee injury.

Dallas Mavericks (2011)

On January 24, 2011 he signed a deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks won the NBA Championship that year, with Stojaković averaging 7.1 points per game during the Mavericks' playoff run. Stojaković scored more than 20 points in two different playoff games for the Mavericks.

On December 19, 2011, Stojaković announced his retirement, citing ongoing back and neck problems that hindered his play later in his career.

Career transactions

• June 26, 1996: Drafted 14th overall in 1996 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
• June 15, 1998: Signed with Sacramento.
• January 25, 2006: Traded by Sacramento to the Indiana Pacers for Ron Artest.
• July 12, 2006: Signed and traded by Indiana to the then-New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for draft rights of Andrew Betts.
• November 20, 2010: Traded by New Orleans to Toronto along with Jerryd Bayless for Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks, and David Andersen.
• January 20, 2011: Released by Toronto.
• January 24, 2011: Signed by Dallas.
• December 19, 2011: Announced his retirement.

International career

As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national basketball team, he earned a bronze medal at the 1999 European Championships (Eurobasket), held in France, as well as gold medals at the 2001 European Championships (Eurobasket), held in Turkey, and the 2002 FIBA World Championships, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also participated at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Stojaković was the MVP of Eurobasket 2001, and was a member of the all-tournament team in Indianapolis in 2002, along with fellow NBA stars Manu Ginóbili, Dirk Nowitzki, and Yao Ming, as well as New Zealand's Pero Cameron.

Personal life

Stojaković acquired Greek citizenship when he joined PAOK in Greece. He is married to Greek model Aleka Kamila and the couple have two children. Peja also served in the Greek army, an obligation to be fulfilled by all male Greek citizens.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998–99	Sacramento	48	1	21.4	.378	.320	.851	3.0	1.5	.8	.2	8.4
1999–00	Sacramento	74	11	23.6	.448	.375	.882	3.7	1.4	.7	.1	11.9
2000–01	Sacramento	75	75	38.7	.470	.400	.856	5.8	2.2	1.2	.2	20.4
2001–02	Sacramento	71	71	37.3	.484	.416	.876	5.3	2.5	1.1	.2	21.2
2002–03	Sacramento	72	72	34.0	.481	.382	.875	5.5	2.0	1.0	.1	19.2
2003–04	Sacramento	81	81	40.3	.480	.433	.927	6.3	2.1	1.3	.2	24.2
2004–05	Sacramento	66	66	38.4	.444	.402	.920	4.3	2.1	1.2	.2	20.1
2005–06	Sacramento	31	31	37.0	.403	.397	.933	5.3	2.2	.6	.1	16.5
2005–06	Indiana	40	40	36.4	.461	.404	.903	6.3	1.7	.6	.2	19.5
2006–07	NO/Oklahoma City	13	13	32.7	.423	.405	.816	4.2	.8	.6	.3	17.8
2007–08	New Orleans	77	77	35.2	.440	.441	.929	4.3	1.2	.7	.1	16.4
2008–09	New Orleans	61	59	34.2	.399	.378	.894	4.3	1.2	.8	.0	13.3
2009–10	New Orleans	62	55	31.4	.404	.375	.897	3.7	1.5	.8	.1	12.6
2010–11	New Orleans	6	0	14.8	.424	.440	.857	1.0	1.0	.3	.0	7.5
2010–11	Toronto	2	0	11.0	.700	.667	1.000	1.5	.5	.0	.0	10.0
2010–11	Dallas	25	13	20.2	.429	.400	.938	2.6	.9	.4	.1	8.6
Career		804	665	33.5	.450	.401	.895	4.7	1.8	.9	.1	17.0
All-Star		3	0	14.7	.364	.385	.000	2.0	1.0	.3	.0	7.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998–99	Sacramento	5	0	21.6	.346	.214	1.000	3.8	.4	.6	.0	4.8
1999–00	Sacramento	5	0	25.8	.400	.462	.667	3.4	.6	.8	.0	8.8
2000–01	Sacramento	8	8	38.4	.406	.346	.968	6.4	.4	.6	.4	21.6
2001–02	Sacramento	10	7	33.8	.376	.271	.897	6.3	1.0	.5	.0	14.8
2002–03	Sacramento	12	12	40.5	.480	.457	.850	6.9	2.5	.8	.4	23.1
2003–04	Sacramento	12	12	43.1	.384	.315	.897	7.0	1.5	1.8	.2	17.5
2004–05	Sacramento	5	5	40.4	.470	.367	.955	5.2	1.4	.8	.2	22.0
2005–06	Indiana	2	2	25.5	.444	.000	.857	4.5	2.0	.5	.5	11.0
2007–08	New Orleans	12	12	37.9	.436	.549	.926	5.4	.5	.5	.1	14.1
2008–09	New Orleans	5	5	32.4	.367	.308	.923	2.8	.4	.8	.2	11.2
2010–11	Dallas	19	0	18.4	.408	.377	.778	1.7	.4	.6	.1	7.1
Career		95	63	32.7	.418	.376	.900	4.9	1.0	.8	.2	14.4

Awards and achievements

• NBA Champion: 2011
• All-NBA Team:

• Second Team: 2004

• 3× NBA All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2004
• 2× NBA Three-point Shootout Champion: 2002, 2003
• 4th in NBA history in career free-throw percentage at .895
• 4th in NBA history in 3-pointers made with 1,760
• 6th in NBA playoff history in free-throw percentage at .900
• 5th in NBA history in 3-pointers attempted with 4,392
• First player in NBA history to start a game off by scoring 20 consecutive points for his team.
• He and Steve Nash of Phoenix were the only players to rank in the top 25 in both free-throw and 3-point percentage during the '04–'05 and '05–'06 seasons.
• Greek League MVP 1998
• Won the 2001 Euroscar Award, given to the best European basketball player by Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
• Named Mister Europa Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 by Italian weekly magazine Superbasket.

See also

• Peja Stojaković Children's Foundation
• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders

External links

• NBA profile
• Peja Stojaković at ESPN.com