Professional career

Stojaković was born into an ethnic Serb family, to parents Miodrag and Branka Stojaković, in Požega, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, but his family fled to Belgrade at the start of the Yugoslav wars. His father stayed and fought in the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina against the Croatian Army until the fall of Western Slavonia (1995), after which he joined his son in Thessaloniki. The Stojakovićs hail from the Papuk mountain region. Many of his relatives now live in Serbia. At 15 years of age (1991-92), he joined the KK Crvena zvezda, for whom he played 2 senior seasons, and won a national championship.

PAOK (1994-1998)

Stojaković moved to Greece at the age of 16, and joined the Greek League club PAOK. Peja, as he was known during his time in PAOK, scored a memorable last-second three-pointer against Olympiacos in Piraeus in the 1998 Greek playoff semi-finals series, winning the match 58-55 for PAOK. That victory, which ended the five-year reign of Olympiacos as Greek League 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 one of Panathinaikos' main stars, 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 per game in the Greek League, and 20.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in the Euroleague 1997-98 season.

Sacramento Kings (1998-2006)

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. Peja's number 16 was retired by the Sacramento Kings on December 16, 2014.

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/Oklahoma City Hornets (2006-2010)

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. 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. He was soon sidelined for several months by injuries, including back surgery, as a result missing most of the 2006-07 season.

Toronto Raptors (2010-2011)

On November 20, 2010, Stojaković was traded to the Toronto Raptors along with Jerryd Bayless in exchange for Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks, and David Andersen.

After appearing in only two games, on January 20, 2011, Stojaković was released by the Raptors. He had missed 26 games due to a left knee injury.

Dallas Mavericks (2011)

On January 24, 2011 he signed a deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks won the NBA Championship that year, with Stojaković averaging 7.1 points per game during the Mavericks' playoff run. Stojaković scored more than 20 points in two different playoff games for the Mavericks.

On December 19, 2011, Stojaković announced his retirement, citing ongoing back and neck problems that hindered his play later in his career.

Post-playing career

In August 2015, Stojaković was appointed director of player personnel and development for the Sacramento Kings. In this role, he is serving as General Manager for the Reno Bighorns, the Kings' NBA Development League affiliate.

International career

As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national basketball team, he earned a bronze medal at the 1999 FIBA EuroBasket, held in France, as well as gold medals at the 2001 FIBA EuroBasket, held in Turkey, and the 2002 FIBA World Championship, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also participated at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Stojaković was named the MVP of FIBA 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 acquired full Greek citizenship at the age of 17, while he was playing with PAOK in Greece. His name, in Greek transliteration, is Prentragk "Petza" Kinis Stogiakovits (Greek: Πρέντραγκ "Πέτζα" Κίνης Στογιάκοβιτς). He is married to Greek model Aleka Kamila and the couple have three children. The family lives in Glyfada, Greece.

Stojaković also served in the Hellenic Army, a mandatory service by each male Greek citizen. He also runs the "Peja Stojaković Children's Foundation", which is a charity that is designed to help improve the lives of children in the Balkan countries of Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece.

The favourite team of his family is Red Star Belgrade, for which he played professionally in 1992-1994.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

†	Denotes season in which Stojaković's team won the NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998-99	Sacramento	48	1	21.4	.378	.320	.851	3.0	1.5	.9	.1	8.4
1999-2000	Sacramento	74	11	23.6	.448	.375	.882	3.7	1.4	.7	.1	11.9
2000-01	Sacramento	75	75	38.7	.470	.400	.856	5.8	2.2	1.2	.2	20.4
2001-02	Sacramento	71	71	37.3	.484	.416	.876	5.3	2.5	1.1	.2	21.2
2002-03	Sacramento	72	72	34.0	.481	.382	.875	5.5	2.0	1.0	.1	19.2
2003-04	Sacramento	81	81	40.3	.480	.433	.927	6.3	2.1	1.3	.2	24.2
2004-05	Sacramento	66	66	38.4	.444	.402	.920	4.3	2.1	1.2	.2	20.1
2005-06	Sacramento	31	31	37.0	.403	.397	.933	5.3	2.2	.6	.1	16.5
2005-06	Indiana	40	40	36.4	.461	.404	.903	6.3	1.7	.7	.2	19.5
2006-07	New Orleans/Oklahoma City	13	13	32.7	.423	.405	.816	4.2	.8	.6	.3	17.8
2007-08	New Orleans	77	77	35.2	.440	.441	.929	4.3	1.2	.7	.1	16.4
2008-09	New Orleans	61	59	34.2	.399	.378	.894	4.3	1.2	.9	.0	13.3
2009-10	New Orleans	62	55	31.4	.404	.375	.897	3.7	1.5	.8	.1	12.6
2010-11	New Orleans	6	0	14.8	.424	.440	.857	1.0	1.0	.3	.0	7.5
2010-11	Toronto	2	0	11.0	.700	.667	1.000	1.5	.5	.0	.0	10.0
2010-11†	Dallas	25	13	20.2	.429	.400	.938	2.6	.9	.4	.1	8.6
Career		804	665	33.5	.450	.401	.895	4.7	1.8	.9	.1	17.0
All-Star		3	0	14.7	.364	.385	.000	2.0	1.0	.3	.0	7.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1999	Sacramento	5	0	21.6	.346	.214	1.000	3.8	.4	.6	.0	4.8
2000	Sacramento	5	0	25.8	.400	.462	.667	3.4	.6	.8	.0	8.8
2001	Sacramento	8	8	38.4	.406	.346	.968	6.4	.4	.6	.4	21.6
2002	Sacramento	10	7	33.8	.376	.271	.897	6.3	1.0	.5	.0	14.8
2003	Sacramento	12	12	40.5	.480	.457	.850	6.9	2.5	.8	.4	23.1
2004	Sacramento	12	12	43.1	.384	.315	.897	7.0	1.5	1.8	.3	17.5
2005	Sacramento	5	5	40.4	.470	.367	.955	5.2	1.4	.8	.2	22.0
2006	Indiana	2	2	25.5	.444	.000	.857	4.5	2.0	.5	.5	11.0
2008	New Orleans	12	12	37.9	.436	.549	.926	5.4	.5	.5	.1	14.1
2009	New Orleans	5	5	32.4	.367	.308	.923	2.8	.4	.8	.2	11.2
2011†	Dallas	19	0	18.4	.408	.377	.778	1.7	.4	.6	.1	7.1
Career		95	63	32.7	.418	.376	.900	4.9	1.0	.8	.2	14.4

Awards and achievements

• NBA Champion: 2011
• 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 career free-throw percentage at .895
• 9th in NBA history in 3-pointers made with 1,760
• 7th in NBA playoff history in free-throw percentage at .900
• 11th in NBA history in 3-pointers attempted with 4,392
• First player in NBA history to start a game off by scoring 20 consecutive points for his team.
• 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.
• FIBA Korać Cup Champion: (1994)
• Greek Cup Champion: (1995)
• Euroleague Top Scorer: 1998
• Greek League MVP: 1998
• Won the 2001 Euroscar Award, given to the best European basketball player by Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
• Named Mister Europa Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 by Italian weekly magazine Superbasket.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]