Peja Stojaković

Predrag Stojaković

No. 16    New Orleans Hornets
Small forward
Personal information
Date of birth	June 9, 1977 (1977-06-09) (age 33)
Place of birth	Požega, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career	1992–present
Career history
PAOK (1994–1998) Sacramento Kings (1998–2006) Indiana Pacers (2006) New Orleans Hornets (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards
Greek League MVP 1998 3× NBA All-Star (2002–2004) All-NBA Second Team (2004) 2× NBA 3-Point Shootout champion (2002–2003) 2× Mister Europa Player of the Year (2001–2002) Euroscar Award Winner (2001)
Predrag Stojaković at NBA.com

Medal record
Competitor for  Yugoslavia
FIBA World Championship
Gold	2002 Indianapolis	FR Yugoslavia
European Championships
Gold	2001 Istanbul	FR Yugoslavia
Bronze	1999 France	FR Yugoslavia

Predrag “Peja” Stojaković (Serbian: Предраг “Пеђа” Стојаковић, IPA: [pɛdʑa stɔjakɔʋitɕ]; born June 9, 1977 in Požega, Croatia, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian basketball player. He currently plays for the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Stojaković is often considered to be one of the most successful basketball players ever to come out of Serbia.

Professional career

Stojaković was born to Serbian parents, Miodrag and Branka Stojaković,^[1] in Slavonska Požega, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia but his family fled to Belgrade during the Yugoslav wars.

He acquired Greek citizenship in 1993 when he joined PAOK BC in Greece.^[2]

PAOK BC (1994-1998)

Peja, as he was called during his time in PAOK BC, scored a memorable last-second three-pointer against Olympiacos in Piraeus in the 1998 Greek playoff semi-finals series, virtually winning the match 58-55 for PAOK.^[3] 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-present)

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.^[4] 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.^[5] He was soon sidelined for several months by injuries, including back surgery, as a result missing most of the 2006–07 season.

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.^[6]
• July 12, 2006: Signed and traded by Indiana to the then-New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for draft rights of Andrew Betts.^[7]

International career

As a member of the Serbian national team, he earned gold medals at the 2001 European Championships (Eurobasket), held in Turkey, the 2002 FIBA World Championships, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also participated at the 2000 Summer Olympics.^[8] 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 also holds Greek citizenship and is married to Greek model Aleka Kamila. He has two children with her: Andrej and Mila.^[1]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and achievements

• 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 free-throw percentage at .8944^[9]
• 4th in NBA history in 3-pointers made with 1,571^[10]
• 6th in NBA playoff history in free-throw percentage at .903^[11]
• 10th in NBA history in 3-pointers attempted with 3,904^[12]
• 23rd in NBA history in 3-point field goal percentage at .4024^[13]
• First player in NBA history to start a game off by scoring 20 consecutive points for his team.^[5]
• 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.^[14]
• Greek League MVP 1998
• Won the 2001 Euroscar Award, given to the best European basketball player by Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.^[14]
• Named Mister Europa Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 by Italian weekly magazine Superbasket.^[15]

See also

• Peja Stojaković Children's Foundation

References

External links

• NBA.com profile
• Peja Stojaković at ESPN.com
• Basketpedya.com Profile
• Peja Stojaković Children's foundation