Former Serbian basketball player Predrag “Pedja” Stojaković, one of the greatest shooters in the game, has been inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Singapore.
At just 16 years old, the legendary Serbian player, known as “Peja” in the U.S., left Crvena Zvezda for Greece’s PAOK, where he spent five years. In the summer of 1998, he joined the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, quickly earning a spot in the starting lineup and averaging 20.4 points per game with a 40% shooting accuracy from the three-point line.
The following season, Stojaković became an All-Star player, a feat he achieved three times, and won the NBA three-point shooting contest.
He ended his playing career as an NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks.
Stojaković’s national team career was equally successful. With the national team of Serbia, or FR Yugoslavia, he became a world champion in Indianapolis in 2002, where Serbia defeated the U.S. Dream Team, and Stojaković was named to the tournament’s All-Star Five.
A year earlier, he led the team to gold at the European Championship in Turkey, where he was the top scorer and the tournament’s MVP.
Photo: facebook.com/FIBA