When it comes to the Golden Generation in 1996, the world is more accustomed to brushing out Kobinashre Allen Iverson Camby Marbury for the first time, and few people will think of Ben Wallace (who did not participate in the draft) and Dampier.
And the following one:
Peja Stojakovich.
Probably because... He's a European, with the vague attribute of "what year did they really come from Europe, and we don't know?"
Most of his memories focus on the fabled "That Kings Team" before 2006. His story of being the Pacers' third-place scorer after Paul and West in just six months is often automatically ignored. In the year he went to Dallas at the end of his career, it was like an empty field, a three-point shot passed through the net, but only triggered a "brush" sound, no applause.
For the "king," along with the audience that had once watched them, had departed.
Divac, Weber, Christie, White Chocolate. Then there was Peja and Bibi.
Story on paper: Born in Yugoslavia in 1977, Peja learned to shoot three points amid gunfire. At the age of 16, he became a professional footballer and immediately went to Greece. He was only 19 years old when he was drafted by the Kings in 1996. He came to the Kings in 1998 and had just become mvp in the Greek league.
That same summer, Weber arrived from Washington, and Adelman took charge of the King's Seal. The three most important people arrived in the same year. Of course, it was Weber, Adelman, who drew on the lens of the world at that time.
By 1998-2000, the Kings had not yet entered the ranks of strong teams, but Weber and Divac had taken the Adelman system and formed the Twin Towers of Joding, becoming the most gorgeous team in the league.
It was only in 2000 that Peja really joined the force.
To cut a set of his career highlights now, it is easy to turn into all kinds of long-range shots: all angles, all kinds of distances, half-sideways shots that are known at a glance. He is arguably the biggest beneficiary of the Kings Princeton system. In the Hornets, even with Paul's pass, he wasn't as free as the Kings — half because Peggy's back wasn't working with Paul.
Peja is a good shooter. His cunning, cleverness, movement, big picture view, hollow cut, and improvisation are all easy to overlook. Because he does everything seems to be without hesitation.
At that time, Weber's high pass began, and he cut out the end of the long-range shot, which can almost be regarded as the epitome of the king of that era.
In those days, in the midst of the turmoil in Yugoslavia, like Divac, Peja still insisted on playing for the national team. In 2001, he won the European Championship with Serbia and Herzegovina, and in 2002, he won the World Championship and was selected for the first team with Ginobili, Nowitzki and Yao Ming.
There are many legendary figures in the Balkans, and Peja is not very prominent compared to the legends of PodyRoga, Kukoc and Petrovich. But when it comes to solid NBA achievements, he doesn't have The 2004 Title of Milisic's 2004 Cigar for Human Flesh, nor does he have Kukoc's three rings.
But: In the 2003-04 season, Peja won what no other Balkan man could do: 81 appearances in the season, averaging 24.2 points, 48 percent shooting, 43 percent three-point percentage, 93 percent free throw percentage, 240 three-pointers in the season to lead the league, and his third all-Star appearance.
On the scoring list, he averaged 24.2 points per game, making Peggy second only to Maddy.
In the regular season MVP selection that year, he ranked fourth in the number of votes, as well as the second team in the league.
That is, in 2004, kg, Kobe, Pierce, Baron, Carter, Duncan, Dirk... Their scores all fell behind Peja.
In 2004, the MVP vote, Peja was followed by Kobe, Sharks, Big Ben, Kidd, and LeBron of the rookie year.
But all this is not his biggest neglected paragraph.
Every time I think of "that King," all the memories come to Chris Webb: one of the best interior lines in history, the most elegant and calm big forward. The arrival of 1998 represents the beginning of the era of kings, and the departure of 2005 represents the end of "that branch of kings".
But if the symbolism is removed, Weber missed as many as 102 games in the three seasons at the peak of the Kings — 2002-04.
That is, in the 2003-04 season, the Kings, who won 55 regular season games and fought the Timberwolves to game seven, can almost be said to be a team led by Peja. In fact, Peja, not Weber, is the player who scored the most points in "That Kings.".
Divac was the king's old locker room butler, Weber was the king's benchmark and flag, and Peja was silent, carving out the territory for that kings, accumulating the most data — data that wouldn't be discussed in highlights and biopics.
That was his destiny. In the Balkans, Divac was a more prominent national hero; in Sacramento, Weber was a more ornate king. Peja scored every three-pointer accurately, smartly and meticulously, making it the most diligent offensive end of the Kings system.
But in the end, he was always the second-in-command who stood quietly in the shadow of the boss.
In fact, he is probably the player who most resembles Ichiro Shinzo – although he has not yet entered the NBA at the end of the Slam Dunk manga.
If you put it aside in modern times, with his range, with his height that can play the No. 4 position in space, with his passing cleverness, of course, he can make a lot of achievements, of course, the times have passed.
In the summer of 2011, fate gave him a little bit of feedback. He accidentally stepped on the dream of former teammate Bibby and followed Dallas to his first championship — as if it were a subtle comedy:
The geniuses of the Balkans are always unable to take the championship as aces, but sitting on the bench, like Milisic, like Vujasic, like Peja in 2011, their own rings will fall from the clouds into their hands.