Peja Stojakovic #16

Career

Predrag Stojakovic was born on 9th june 1977 in the town of slavonska pozega. He started playing basketbal at an early age. In 1989 till 1992 he played for Sloga(Slavonska Pozega) (YUG).He practiced twice a day and soon he became a great tallented player.When he and his family lost there buisness because of war, they fled from Croatia to Belgrade,Serbia and Montenegro , he started playing for Redstar Belgrade at the age of 15. Soon he was spotted by PAOK Thessaloniki (greece). That was a great oppertunity for him to play professional basketball. He moved to PAOK where he spent four seasons with the greek club. Soon he made a name for himself in europe. I didnt take a long time before he was selected by the Kings in the first round (14th overall pick) of the 1996 NBA Draft while still playing in Greece. He continued to play there until the Sacramento Kings signed him to the 1998-99 season. After two seasons coming off the kings bench, he had a breakthrough season in 2000- 2001,as a starter he averaged 20.4 point and 5.8 rebounds per game. Also .400 from his favorite three-point range. He finished second in the league's Most Improved Player voting. 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, Stojakovic was again selected as an All-Star, and finished second in the league in scoring with a career-high 24.2 ppg. He also led the NBA in free-throw percentage (.927) and three-pointers made for the season (240). As a member of the Serbia and Montenegro national team, he earned gold medals at the 2001 European Championships (Eurobasket), held in Turkey, and the 2002 FIBA World Championships, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Stojakovic was a member of the all- tournament team in Indianapolis, along with fellow NBA stars Manu Ginobili, Dirk Nowitzki, and Yao Ming.

Personal

• Filmed a commercial in his native Serbian an Greek languages for the NBA last season, speaking out against violence and warning children of the dangers of smoking
• Co-hosted a Christmas Toy Drive with Vlade Divac which resulted in the shipping of 10,000 toys to Serbia
• Became a Greek citizen in 1993 because teams from his native Yugoslavia were not permitted to play in the European Cup

Clubs

• 1989-1992: Sloga(Slavonska Pozega)(YUG)

• 1992-1993: Crvena Zvezda Beograd(YUG)
• 1993-received Greek citizenships
• 1993-1994: PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE): sat out
• 1994-1995: PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE)

• 1995-1996: PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE): injured during the start of the season but then joined back the team: 16.9ppg
• 1996: drafted by Sacramento Kings (NBA,1rd(14))
• 1996-1997: PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE): broken his leg: 16games: 20.3ppg, 4.6rpg
• 1997-1998: PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE): 23.9ppg, 4.9rpg, 2.5apg
• 1998-1999: Kinder Bologna offers (ITA) over $4.5mln for 3 years, finally signed 3-years contract with Sacramento Kings.(NBA) for $3.93mln per season rookieseason 8.4ppg

• 1999-2000: Sacramento Kings (NBA): 11.9ppg, 3.7rpg, 1.4apg
• 2000 - signed 7-years contract for $40,685,000 at Sacramento (NBA)
• 2000-2001: Sacramento Kings (NBA,1T): 20.4ppg, 5.8rpg, 2.2apg, 1.2spg
• 2001-2002: Sacramento Kings (NBA,1T): Regular Season: 71games: 21.2ppg, 5.3rpg, 2.5apg, 1.1spg Injured during playoffs only played 10 games 14.8ppg
• 2002-2003: Sacramento Kings (NBA,1T)
• 2003-2004: Sacramento Kings (NBA,1T)
• 2004-2005: Sacramento Kings (NBA,1T)

Facts

• 1997-1998 Greek All-Star Game
• 1997-1998 Greek MVP 1998 Named MVP of the Greek League after averaging 23.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.20 spg in 24 games for PAOK
• 1998-Greek League Finalist -98
• 1999-2002 Yugoslavian National Team
• 1999-European Championships in France bronze medal
• 2000-Olympic Games(Sydney)
• 2000-Yugoslavian 2nd Best Player Abroad
• 2001-NBA All-Star Game 3-Point Contest Finalist
• 2001-NBA All-Star Game America On-Line 2Ball Contest Winner
• 2001-NBA All-Improved Team -
• 2001-NBA Western Conference Semifinals
• 2001-European Championships in Turkey gold medal
• 2001-European Championships MVP
• 2002-NBA Western Confrence Finals
• 2002-NBA Pacific Division Champion
• 2002-NBA Semifinals vs Lakers

• 2002-NBA All-Star Game 11points
• 2002-NBA All-Star Game 3-Point Contest Winner
• 2002-World Championships in Indianapolis Gold medal(USA)
• 2002-World Championships All-Star Team
• 2003-NBA All-Star Game 3-point Contest Winner for the second time.Stojakovic became the fifth repeat champion in the 18-year history of the event that precedes the NBA All-Star game.