By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Predrag ‘Peja’ Stojakovic joined the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camp. The NBA champion with Dallas Mavericks (2011), NBA three-point field goals leader (2004), EuroLeague top scorer (1998), two gold medals with the Yugoslavian national team (2001, 2002) and the list of trophies goes on, both team and individual ones.
Now, he is trying to help Sacramento Kings do the same as the assistant general manager to another Serbian legend and his former teammate Vlade Divac: “We want to create a team which will play a big role, just like we did”, Peja reminds of the 2000’s when he and Divac were a big part of the Kings ‘Greatest Show on Court’ era together with Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, and Doug Christie.
A bit symbolic, their plans for the next season also include a Serbian duo of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica: “I hope we are on the right path, we have a lot of young players we are helping to grow and we hope one of them will become a leading NBA player. Bogdan plays phenomenal, we expect even more from him, Nemanja Bjelica arrived, it’s logical to see an improvement this year”, Stojakovic said during the BWB, per Basketball Sphere.
And he has only the best to say about Bogdanovic expecting him to keep up the good work and help the Kings reach the top: “He is a worker just like I was, he believes in himself, he can play multiple positions, he managed far better than I expected. He’s got the heart, he’s stubborn, sometimes he even wants to go through the wall. It’s far more beautiful than being content with the accomplished. He always raises the bar higher and wishes together with us for Sacramento to play a leading role in the NBA.”