Former Kings and Mavericks player Peja Stojakovic, one of the best sharpshooters in NBA history, has decided retire after a 13-year career in the NBA.
Stojakovic, 34, told ESPN.com on Monday that he decided to call it quits after a history of back and neck troubles that have plagued him over the last few seasons. The three-time All-Star won his first championship with the Mavericks last season and thought to end his career on a high-note.
"When you start competing against your body more than you're preparing for the actual game, it's a wakeup call," Stojakovic said.
He was a key component in the Mavericks' title run last season, scoring 15 and 21 points in home games against the Los Angeles Lakers, as the Mavericks swept the then-defending champions in the playoffs. In Dallas' Game 4 rout of the Lakers, the sharpshooter went 6-for-6 from beyond the arc, perhaps the best postseason performance of his career.
Stojakovic had a bitter rivalry with the Lakers throughout his career as the starting shooting guard of the Sacramento Kings. At the beginning of the 2000's, the Kings-Lakers rivalry was among the best in the NBA, successfully fueled by such players as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Rick Fox and Stojakovic.
Stojakovic was chosen with the 14th overall selection in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. He would not make his professional debut until the start of the 1998-99 season, averaging 8.4 points per game in his rookie season.
He would get better over the next few seasons, eventually landing in the starting lineup as the shooting guard, beginning in the 2000-01 season. In just his third season, Stojakovic averaged 20.4 points per game and in the following season, he set a then-career high in points per game with 21.2 per contest -- in that same year, he also became the first European player to win the Three-Point Shootout, annually held during All-Star Weekend. He would then go on to successfully defend his title the following year, becoming the fifth player to win at least two consecutive shootouts since it's inception -- Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Mark Price and Jeff Hornacek are the others.
During the 2003-04 season, Stojakovic averaged a career-high 24.2 points per game, while also making the All-Star team. He also led the NBA in free-throw percentage (92.7%) for the first time in his career.
The following season, Stojakovic's stats started to decrease, as it would become the last season in his career that he averaged at least 20 points per game.
Just 31 games into the 2005-06 season, Stojakovic would get traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Ron Artest on Jan. 25, 2006. It was the first time that he would be traded, but it surely would not be the last.
He would finish out the season with the Pacers, playing in 40 games while averaging 19.5 points and a career-high 6.3 rebounds per game. Many thought that the Pacers would re-sign him, but instead he was dealt to the New Orleans Hornets on July 12, just a little over six months after he arrived in Indiana -- he was subsequently dealt for Andrew Betts, who has not played in an NBA game thus far.Stojakovic would miss most of the 2006-07 season, playing in just thirteen games. However, in one of those thirteen games, Stojakovic became the first player in NBA history to score his team's first 20 points, as he accomplished that feat against the Charlotte Bobcats on Nov. 19, 2006.
The subsequent year, Stojakovic would have his best year as a Hornet, averaging 16.4 points per game and leading the NBA in free-throw percentage for the second time in his career (92.9%). He would go on to play just a little more than two seasons for the Hornets before being dealt to the Raptors along with Jerryd Bayless for David Andersen, Marcus Banks and Jarrett Jack on Nov. 20, 2010.
Stojakovic played just two games for the Raptors before being waived just two months after he was sent up north. Four days after being waived, he signed a one-year, $636,320 deal with the Dallas Mavericks and it couldn't have ended any better.
He would quickly become friends with Dirk Nowitzki, once a bitter National team rival over in Europe. Stojakovic, along with a team comprised with other veterans, would help the Mavericks win their first ever NBA Championship, defeating the Miami Heat in six games.
Dallas' defeat of the Heat was perhaps one of the best championship teams ever, as quite a few players won their first ever championship after playing in the NBA for ten or more years -- including Stojakovic, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Brian Cardinal and DeShawn Stevenson. The team also consisted of Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood, both of whom were in their ninth year of professional basketball when they struck gold with the Mavericks.
Stojakovic's decision to retire from the NBA was not a surprise, however. After a stellar 13-year career, it was time to call it quits.
"Peja will go down as one of the great shooters in the history of the NBA. His success was the result of a tireless work ethic and an unquenchable desire to be the best at what he did. Peja's legacy, however, goes way beyond his 3-point skills and that elusive Finals title he won last season with the Dallas Mavericks," NBA commissioner David Stern said of the retirement. "Peja was part of the wave of international stars that helped introduce the world to the NBA game and inspired thousands of fans to begin playing the sport of basketball."
Stojakovic said in a statement released on Monday, "I feel so blessed to have been given the athletic gifts to play professional basketball. I have always loved the game and have great respect for it and I know the time is right to step away. I promised myself a long time ago, if it came to the point where my heart and body were not 100 percent committed, I would step away. I have reached that point and I know the time is right to retire."
"I want to thank the great fans in Sacramento, Indiana, New Orleans, and Dallas who supported me throughout the years. I also want to thank the Dallas Mavericks for believing in me this past season and for giving me the chance to end my NBA career with a championship," Stojakovic continued. "I look forward to taking some time to spend with my wife, Aleka, and my three children. I will slowly figure out the next steps in my life and determine what my second career will be. I'm sure I will stay involved in basketball in general and the NBA in particular."
Stojakovic averaged 17 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc and 45 percent from the field for the Kings, Pacers, Hornets, Raptors and Mavericks.
