#头条创作挑战赛 #
When we talk about the golden generation of 1996, we think of too many loud names - Kobe, Iverson, Nash, Ray Allen, Marbury, O'Neal Jr., Big Ben and others, and there is a name that when we suddenly mention it, it seems both familiar and somewhat strange, familiar because he was at his peak, not only the most terrifying three-point machine in the league, but also the gorgeous king of the year; The strangeness lies in his consistency and low profile, and despite averaging 24.2 points per game that year (second in the league behind Maddie), he never possessed the ball. But the NBA league remembers, and every King, Hornets and Mavericks fan remembers, the one from Serbia who had the sharpshooter who could compete with Ray Allen at the time: Peja Stodjakovic.
Name: Peja-Stojakovic
Height: 2.08 meters
Birthday: June 9, 1977
Career: 1998-2011
Teams: Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets
Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks
Averages: 17.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.1 blocks
Honors: 2011 NBA champion, 3-time All-Star
All-2003-2004 All-NBA Second Team, 2003, 2004 All-Star three-point victory
Serbia-born Peja, who also belongs to the 1996 Golden Generation, and he and Ray Allen have been hailed as two of the best goalscorers of '96. In 1996 , the Kings selected Peja with the 14th overall pick, but his contract with PAOK of the Greek League was not yet fulfilled, and he continued to play for PAOK from 1997 to 1998, winning the Greek League MVP in 1998 and entering the NBA the same year.
As one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, Peja built his perfect NBA career with a wonderful feel (1760 career three-pointers). He was an important firepower output of the 2002 Kings, averaging 21.2 points on 41.6 percent three-point shooting and only 4.4 three-point shots per game.
Peja didn't come to the NBA until 1998 with the Greek League MVP trophy.
He was an All-Star team for three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004, and in 2003-2004, Peja averaged a career-high 24.2 points per game, ranking second in the league. Ranked fourth in the season MVP ranking, he made 240 three-pointers throughout the season and shot 93.3 percent from the free throw line, the first in the league.
In the summer of 2011, fate gave him a little back. He finally watched the Lakers fall and avenge the 2002 one-shot kill. He accidentally stepped on the dream of former teammate Bibby and followed the Dallas Mavericks to his first championship — as if it were a subtle irony: Balkan geniuses can't always be justified as trump cards to win championships in the United States, but sitting on the bench, like Milicic, like Vujasić, like Peja in 2011, your own ring will fall from the clouds into your hand.
This was also the last season of Peja's career, and after winning the championship, Peja chose to retire to give a perfect end to his career.
(1) The period of the king
Born in Yugoslavia in 1977, he learned to shoot three-point shots amid artillery fire. He turned professional at the age of 16 and then moved to Greece. He was just 19 years old when he was drafted by the Kings in 1996. He arrived with the Kings in 1998 as the MVP of the Greek league. That same summer, Webb arrived from Washington, and Adelman took up the king's seal.
In 1998–99, Peja played in 47 games as a substitute, averaging 8.4 points, 3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.4 minutes per game.
The Kings made the playoffs sixth in the West this season, playing five games against the Jazz in the first round, only to be eliminated by their opponents.
In the 1999–00 season, Peja played in 74 games , starting 11 of them. In averaging 23.6 minutes per game, Peja was able to record 11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists, making him an important player on the Kings' team.
The Kings entered the playoffs as eighth in the West this season, facing the Lakers in the first round, and the Kings were eliminated 2-3 on aggregate.
After a season, Peja entered the Kings' starting lineup, playing as a small forward. Under Adelman's Princeton system, Peja worked with teammates such as Webb and Divac to gradually become a quality scorer in the league.
On January 20, 2000, against the Orlando Magic, he had 10 rebounds, a career high.
In the 2000–01 season, the Kings sent Jason Williams away and Peja was promoted to the main player. In 75 starts, Peja averaged 20.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 38.7 minutes per game, second only to Maddie. What's even more frightening is that his three-point shooting percentage has begun to stabilize at 40% - to put it simply, his career three-point shooting percentage is 40.1%.
In 2001, Pegia was named NBA Player of the Year by Le Sport Milano, Europe's best-selling sports newspaper.
The Kings made the playoffs with an excellent 55-27 record this season, comfortably beating the Suns 3-1 in the first round to advance. But in the ensuing battle with the Lakers, they were swept out by the Lakers and failed to achieve better results.
In 2001–02, when Webb was unavailable due to injury early in the season, Peja took over the leadership and averaged nearly 24 points per game to lead the Kings to a 15-5 record.
In the 2001-2002 season, Peja, who shot 41.6% from three-point range, averaged 21.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, participated in the three-point contest and became a member of the Western Conference All-Star. Moreover, in the three-point showdown, Peja took perfect revenge - in the first round, Peja threw 9 goals in a row and scored 21 points to seal the final, but Ray Allen was eliminated with only 14 points. In the final, Peja scored 19 points, while his rival Nash scored 18 points and Persson also scored 19 points. Nash is out, and another 96 golden generation shooter, Persson, who also shoots more than 40% from three-point range in his career, lost to Peja in the 24-second playoff. Peja won the three-point contest.
The Kings reached the playoffs with a league-best record of 61-21 this season, comfortably beating the Jazz 3-1 in the first round to advance. Subsequently, in the second round of the showdown, the Mavericks were eliminated 4:1 on aggregate. The Western Conference Finals once again faced long-time rivals the Lakers, and the two sides fought seven life and death battles, but in the life and death of the two sides, Peja missed a deadly bottom line three-pointer, and the Kings were eliminated.
Here is the highlight of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.
In the 2002 Finals, the Lakers swept the Nets 4-0. It was a finale without suspense. The OK combination beat Kidd, and to exaggerate, the top few in the West played the Nets that year without problems.
That year's regular season record, the Nets had 52 wins, ranking 1st in the East, while the fourth Mavericks in the West had a record of 57 wins! So whichever team can break out of the West will win the championship. So the Western Conference Finals game must be full of highlights, and the results also proved that the Lakers beat the Kings 4:3, and here is an insider!
Looking at their regular season record, the Sacramento Kings: 61-21, first in the West. Los Angeles Lakers: 58-24, third in the West. Although the ranking does not represent anything, after all, the black eight miracles are there, and this is only the third hit first, it can be said that it is a contest in the same heavyweight class, which team plays well and wins is normal, in addition, there are some teams that are regular season dragon playoff worm teams.
At that time, the Kings were definitely the league's premier team, led by Chris Webb and Mike Bibby, assisted by Peja, Divac, Gerard Wallace and other stars, under the Princeton system, can pass and attack, have a team, have a finish, weird, and gorgeous. We also saw team basketball in which all people are soldiers on the team played by Yao Ming in the back.
In Game 6 of the series, the Kings, who were the first to win the game point, came to the Lakers' home court to play, but this game became the most controversial one!
After the two sides tied 75, the fourth quarter began the battle, and the Lakers scored only 31 points in the entire fourth quarter, 21 of which came from free throws. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers scored 27 times, while the King only had 9 times, a full 18 less, in the last 6 minutes of the game, the Lakers did not score in sports, but they still overtook the score, the whole game, the Lakers made 40 free throws, and the King only had 15 free throws in the game, on the scale of fouls, the Kings had many offenses were blown offensive fouls, which made the King's overall offensive rhythm completely disrupted, and even some obvious foul actions were ignored by the referee; Defensively, O'Neal made 17 free throws in a single game, and Kings centers Devac and Pollard, who were responsible for defending him, were sent off for all crimes, and finally with such a large manpower advantage, the Lakers narrowly defeated the Kings 106-102.
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In the 2002–03 season, Peja played in just 72 games due to an ankle injury, averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2 assists in 34 minutes per game, and won the three-point tournament.
The Kings made the playoffs with a 59-23 record, defeating the Jazz 4-1 in the first round, but losing in the second round of the matchup.
In Game 2 of the 2003 playoff second-round game against the Mavericks, Webb tore his meniscus in his knee. At the end of the season, the Lakers got Malone and Payton respectively, and "OK" formed the famous "F4". The Timberwolves got Cassell and Sprewell, and if you consider the Bloody West with defending champions Spurs, the Kings' prospects for 2003-04 bleak when they miss most of the season.
However, once the crisis is solved, the solution is an opportunity. Brad Miller, whom Adelman brought in, unexpectedly showed great skill and awareness and integrated well into the team. And the team under the call of the eldest brother Divac, Peja began to become the tactical core of the team. Empty cut inside line, running position to get rid of, low single, outside breakout... Obviously, it is precisely because of Webb's absence that his originally suppressed all-round scoring ability has been released, and even the problem of dropping the chain at critical moments that has always been criticized seems to no longer exist.
The team began revolving around Peja at full power, and Peja, who had never been in the top 20 of the league's scoring list before, suddenly soared to the second place in the NBA's scoring champion.
Until Webb's comeback announcement on March 2, Peja averaged 25.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, shooting 48.1% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range, leading the Kings to a 42-11 record, ranking first in the West. At this point, Peja was no longer just the temporary core of the Kings, but one of the favorites on the MVP list.
However, since Webb's return, everything suddenly took a turn for the worse. When "The King" realized that the team could play well without him, instead of being as big as he was dreaming in 1992, he decided to "prove himself" again with a paranoid mentality. The change in mentality made Webb impatient, and although the players and coaches were used to his absence, they did not dare to offend such a star forward. Peja lost its centrality, and in the 23 games since Webb's return, Peja's average dropped to 21 points per game, and the Kings only had an 11-12 record, eventually finishing fifth in the West and entering the playoffs.
In the end, in this once hailed as "the hardest scoring season in NBA history", Peja averaged 24.2 points per game in 40.3 minutes of playing time (second in the league after Maddie), and he shot 240 three-pointers throughout the season, 43% three-point rate and 93% free throw percentage, all the highest in the league that season. He finished 4th in the final MVP selection (Garnett received 120 of the 123 first votes that year, leaving O'Neal Jr. with 2, and the last one went to Peja), and was selected for the league's All-NBA Second Team.
Accurate, intelligent and meticulous in every three-pointer, Peja is the most diligent offensive terminal in the Kings' system.
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During at least the regular season of 2003-04, Peja was one of the league's strongest small forwards
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In the playoffs, the team's internal wear turned the Kings into a complete stranger, and Peja, who lost tactical support, struggled very much in the playoffs. Although he can sometimes force his feelings (such as scoring back-to-back points to stop the bleeding after the team's 2-17 start in Game 5 of the first round, and eventually scoring 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting).
In overtime in the third game of the Western Conference semifinals, he single-handedly scored all the Kings (the team scored 9 points on 6 of the team's 9 shots), but in the end, he missed the kill, and then he disappeared on the offensive end for two consecutive games.
So in the final moments of the semifinals and the Timberwolves "grab seven", Peja lost the trust of head coach Adelman, who even let Webb, who did not have the ability to stabilize three-pointers, execute the last shot, the result is naturally self-evident, and Peja shot 2 of 4 from three-point range in this game.
In the end, all that was left to the world was a picture of Webb kneeling in front of Garnett, and people lamented that the talented striker was born at an opportune time. And Peja, who led the Kings to play good balls for most of the season, was once again surrounded by the sound of "soft eggs", and people seemed to forget that this was his masterpiece season, and forgot his MVP-level performance before Webb's comeback.
Weber's kneeling seemed to foreshadow the future. The king is like a beautiful flower, it's a pity that there is no poison and no thorns!
Year after year, it was slow to break out of the west. In between, the gorgeous Kings have fallen apart.
At the end of the 2003-04 season, the original gorgeous Kings team fell apart, and the main players left one after another:
In '04, the resurgent king fell again in front of KG's Timberwolves. That summer, the gorgeous art basketball team began to fall apart
In the summer of 2004, Divac moved to the Lakers, his first career stop;
In February 2005, Webb moved to 76ers;
In the 2004–05 season, Peja played in only 66 games due to injury and averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 38.4 minutes per game. The Kings also made the playoffs this season with a 50-32 record, but they were eliminated by the SuperSonics 4-1 in the first round.
In January 2006, the King finally questioned Peja's core competencies and switched him to Artest and switched to the Indiana Pacers...
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In '04, the comeback King fell in front of KG's Timberwolves That summer, the gorgeous art basketball team began to fall apart
Peja's memory of the king is full of affection---- "It was the best team I played for in my career. I played for the Kings for eight years, it was a very good eight years, and I made a lot of friends both on and off the court. I have deep, deep feelings for the Kings and for the city of Sacramento. ”
(2) Walker period
In the 2005–06 season , Peja played 31 games for the Kings , before being traded to the Pacers in the middle of the season. Peja, who came to Indiana, became a starter for the Pacers and played in the remaining 40 games, averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
On January 28 , 2006 , Peja Stojakovich reported to the Indiana Pacers and attended the team's press conference.
In January 2006, the King finally questioned Peja's core competencies and switched him to Artest and switched to the Indiana Pacers...
After being traded to the Pacers, Peja never returned to the form of the 2003-04 season, although Peja's occasional performances can make it seem that he is not too far from his prime: On November 14, 2006, against the Charlotte Bobcats, Peja scored 42 points, the highest of his career, and it is hard to imagine that a super shooter's career high would be scored late in his career, which somewhat shows that injuries have stolen talent from his career that should have been cashed in.
(3) The wasp period
On July 13 , 2006 , Peja was traded to the Hornets on a sign-and-trade basis.
On July 13 , 2006 , the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Hornets officially signed and traded Peja Stodjakovich , with the Hornets receiving cash in the trade and the Pacers receiving Andrew Bates, a rookie drafted by the Hornets in the second round in 1998.
But in the 2006–07 season, Peja played only 13 games due to a back injury.
Stojakovic signed a five-year, $64 million contract with the New Orleans Hornets.
On November 14, 2006, against the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Wasp), Peja scored 42 points, the highest score of his career
In 2007–08, Peja played in 77 games ( the second highest of his career ) , averaging 16.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game. He shot 44.1% from three-point range and averaged 3 three-pointers per game, both career highs.
The Hornets also made the playoffs with a 56-26 record this season, easily knocking out the Mavericks 4-1 in the first round, only to be ruthlessly defeated by the Spurs 4-3 on aggregate in the second round.
In the 07-08 season, he shot 44.1% from the field and averaged 3 three-pointers per game Along with Paul and West, he played the best 56 wins in Hornets history
In the 2008–09 season, Peja played in only 61 games due to injuries and averaged 13.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 34.2 minutes per game.
The Hornets made the playoffs seventh in the West this season, only to be eliminated by the Nuggets 4-1 in the first round.
In his second season with the Hornets, he and Paul West Chandler led the Hornets to a team-best 56 wins in franchise history.
In 2009-10, Peja averaged 12.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game during the season, while the Hornets finished the season with a 37-45 record and missed the playoffs.
To this day, Peja can still be considered the best scorer Paul's career partner - whether it is the future Nick Young, Redick or Gordon, they do not have the excellent hardware configuration of Peja: 2.03 meters tall, excellent reach, average confrontation and speed, back + rub small points, and most flank full-time shooters do not have excellent passing ability.
(4) The Raptors period
In 2010, he was traded by the Hornets to the Toronto Raptors and played only two games for the team, and he was bought out!
In the 2010–11 season, on November 20, 2010, Peja Stojakovic was traded along with Jerry Belles to the Toronto Raptors, and the Hornets traded for Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks, and David Anderson.
In the nearly two months since joining the team, Peja has only played 2 games for the Raptors, scoring a total of 20 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
Stayed with the Raptors for 2 months, played only 2 games, and was eventually cut
On January 21, 2011, the Toronto Raptors officially bought out Peja Stojakovic.
(5) Maverick period
On January 25, 2011, Peja Stojakovic officially signed with the Mavericks; He played in 25 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 8.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
On June 13, Peja Stojakovic's team the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship. Peja Stojakovich Stojakovic scored a total of 36 points against Ron Artest in games three and four , allowing the Mavericks to sweep the Lakers 4-0 to advance to the Western Conference Finals, and Peja played 11 soy sauce games in the Western Conference finals and finals, eventually won the championship, received a ring, and then announced his retirement.
With the team defeated the Heat and won the coveted championship. In the finals, he played only 15 minutes without a brilliant performance
(7) Announcement of retirement
On December 20, 2011, Peja Stojakovic officially announced his retirement, ending his 13-year career.
In his 13 seasons in the NBA, Peja shot less than 40% from the field for only two seasons, and except for his rookie season, his three-point shooting rate was above 35%, and his free throw percentage was always above 80%. In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, he and Nash were the only NBA players to finish in the league's top 25 in both free throws and three-point shooting.
Throughout his career, Stojakovic played in 804 games, averaging 17 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.5 minutes per game, shooting 45 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three-point range, and 89.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Stojakovic made a total of 1,760 three-pointers in his career.
On December 17, 2014, the Sacramento Kings staged the jersey retirement ceremony for legendary scorer Peja Stojakovic before their home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On April 11, 2022, NBA UK officially released the best European First Team in NBA history, and Peja Stojakovic was listed.
(8) National team career
Member of the Yugoslav national team of the European champion in 1999.
In the 2001 European Championships, Peja played for Yugoslavia and won the championship as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
In 2002, Peja played with Yugoslavia at the World Championships, beating the United States and Argentina along the way to win the championship.
(9) Comprehensive evaluation
Once one of the best shooters in the league, a super shooter with both shooting timing, shooting speed and accuracy. The disadvantage is that the individual has not strong offensive ability to hold the ball, the psychological quality is not too hard, and the defense is soft.
offensive
Peja Stojakovich
Peja's shooting skills are extremely good, and his shooting movements are actually not too standard [compared to those so-called "picturesque" shoots, Peja's shooting posture does have some strangeness - the shot is sideways, the ball and hands are on the right, and the trajectory of the ball after the shot is left off. Peja's shot is obviously more like a curve. But this does not affect the greatness of Peja], but the shooting speed is extremely fast, the shooting rate is amazingly high, and the range covers almost the entire half.
In addition, Peja's open cutting ability is also very strong, and there are often scenes of the bottom line running back and forth and suddenly cutting into the outside pass for a layup, coupled with his relatively high figure playing No. 3, which gives him a certain advantage in vision and shot height, which has created Peja's position as the most qualified tactical executor and attack finisher in the Kings' offensive system.
His biggest offensive problem is the lack of reliable one-on-one attack methods with the ball, the ball control and ball cutting skills are below the NBA average, and the back frame attack is almost nothing. Because of this, relative to his super projection, he can only be a good finishing player rather than the team's attacking core that launches attacks and creates chances. In fact, with his physical condition, he can properly develop a certain ability to attack the back basket.
defend
Maverick period
Peja doesn't really lose much in strength and footwork against most No. 3 players in the league, and his main defensive flaw is his overly negative and weak defensive attitude, as evidenced by his average of less than 0.2 blocks per game (he is 6-foot-10). When playing against a tough small forward (example A: LeBron James, example B: Cameron Anthony), once the opponent plays smoothly, Peja is very likely to be exploded.
Psychological qualities
This has always been criticized by people. His psychological quality does exist, but it is not as exaggerated as the media public, and sometimes it is still reliable to let him shoot the killer ball, such as the Detroit Pistons in the 04 regular season three-point second. In fact, many times his shooting percentage declined, mainly because the team's tactical adjustments caused his shooting rhythm and timing to be disrupted.
Peja Stodjakovic (left) with former teammate Dragan Tarak
location
Since his debut, Peja has played as a small forward, his passing skills have not reached the average level of the No. 2 position, and although he has height, he is not capable of power forward and center with his weight and strength.
Peja and Camilla
His wife is a Greek supermodel
Peja is a super handsome guy, but his wife Camilla is a super model. How beautiful and charming Camila is, the foreign media described her as beautiful as making people stop breathing. World supermodel Adriana Skolinakova (wife of famous French star Kalumbu) from the Czech Republic said of Camilla: "I admire Camila's style of dress, she is a noble beauty, every man will be fascinated by her. ”
Interestingly, Camilla, who is 1.79 meters tall, was a sports beauty before she became a model, and her athletic talent was not bad.
From the simple appearance, Camilla is not the kind of beautiful and incomprehensible woman, but as Adriana said, the most attractive thing about Camilla is her temperament. Greece is known as the land of the gods, and its history is even related to mythology. As a Greek beauty, Camilla interprets her national colors vividly: her misty eyes seem to tell the mysterious legends of this ancient country for thousands of years, while her handsome and playful nose shows the unique style of Southeast European women, and her slightly upturned sexy lips are described by magazines as "magical natural mineral springs"... These factors come together and Camilla gives the Greek woman a near-perfect flaunt.
Camilla
—— Forgotten greatness ——
How long can a player be at the top? Many things can make the difference between a player's peak and come to an abrupt end. Like Thomas Jr. of the Celtics, good things are always short-lived, and now it is difficult to see Peja's name in the discussion of the all-time top scorer, and Peja has almost disappeared in various historical status debates.
But that doesn't stop us from appreciating a player's short great time, even if that nostalgia may seem out of place in this era.
The 96 golden generation is the deepest memory of our basketball
For the great goalscorer, the biggest regret of his career: maybe he didn't win a championship with the King...
2001-02 Season Group Makeup Photos All members of the Kings used the "middle finger" to express their unbridled spirits
In his 13-year NBA career, although he has never been a team boss In his brief peak, Peja was still one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history
From a European kid to an NBA sharpshooter, I don't know what everyone's impression of Peja is?