[Old General Record] A legend that came out of the Yugoslavia war!

In the long river of NBA history, when talking about the "Five Kings Tigers", fans will always think of the team that made countless people excited: Weber, Bibi, Divac, Christie, and the European sharpshooter who seems to be taciturn but uses three-pointers to change the game trend: Peja Stoyakovic.

Many people only remember his last dance on the Mavericks, and he stepped up from the bench to make three-pointers, helping Nowitzki break the curse and win the championship. And the real story of Peja starts with the war in Yugoslavia.

In 1977, Peja was born in Yugoslavia Croatia. Like many children in that era, he had turmoil and escaped in his childhood, but he also had a spiritual sustenance to never leave: basketball.

When he was a child, he often watched a video tape repeatedly: the young Jordan wore a North Carolina robe against the Yugoslav national team. On TV, the figures of Bird Bird and the Bad Boys Legion also became his earliest basketball textbook. Who would have thought that the child with clear eyes would become one of the most deadly cold-blooded shooters in the NBA field in the future.

At the age of 14, a civil war broke out in Yugoslavia. Peja fled to Bergrad with his family and joined the Red Star Youth Team. Two years later, the family moved to Greece again. In order to continue his basketball career, he even chose to change his hometown to become a Greek citizen.

Peja has completely transformed during the six seasons of the Greek League. His tall outside projection and quick and weird attacks quickly made him a European superstar. In those years, he not only stood firm in the main force, but also won the Greek League MVP. And the foreshadowing of fate began to be quietly laid at this time.

At the 1996 draft, stars shine: Iverson, Kobe, Nash...Peja is among this golden generation. He was selected by the Kings in the 14th pick in the first round.

Interestingly, the King originally wanted to choose Kobe, but was warned by Kobe's team: if he was selected by the King, he would refuse to sign the contract. So, the strange name finally sounded on the stage: "Peja Stoyakovic from Greece." In an instant, the Kings fans booed and even rushed to find out who the middle-parted young man was.

But it turns out that the choice questioned this time has made the King the most gorgeous offensive system in the next few years.

In 1998, Peja, with an MVP halo, finally landed in the NBA. That year, the Kings completed a series of operations: trade to Webber, sign big brother Divac, and use the draft pick to pick Jason Williams. An era of the kings and five tigers has quietly set sail.

Peja, who just arrived in the NBA, was very uncomfortable and spent most of his time sitting on the bench. But Divac kept reminding him in his ears: "First win the respect of his teammates, and then let the opponent see your value." With the help of his fellow villagers, he gradually began to gain a foothold. In his second season, he was able to average nearly 12 points per game, and delivered nearly 40% of his three-point shooting percentage.

"Your time will come."

In the third season, with Collis Williamson being traded, Peja was finally able to straighten it. That year, Peja directly averaged 20.4 points per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of up to 40%. From then on, the title of top shooter in the league began to be closely linked to him.

For Peja, his shooting posture has always been a hot topic:

leans toward the left, his arm habitually swings to the right after the shot, and then the basketball drew an arc and entered the net steadily.

Such strange actions are nicknamed "a fallen drunk" by ESPN. Bird Bird praised this:

"His ball almost always flew in the same direction. Even if he missed the shot, he mostly hit the front or back of the basket, which is the characteristic of a great shooter. "

In 2002, Peja was selected as the All-Star for the first time, defeating Ray Allen in the three-point competition to win the championship; the next year he successfully defended his title, becoming the fifth three-pointer in history to win the second consecutive championship. And this back-to-back three-point championship completely made the NBA remember this sharpshooter from Europe.

Some people say that Peja's success is inseparable from the king's system. After all, he has passers around him like Weber, Divac, and Bibby, who help him pass the ball with a pick-and-roll. But after leaving the Kings, Peja still shot more than 40% of his three-point shooting percentage for three consecutive seasons, and averaged more than 16 points per game. This report card is enough to prove his strength, and it is far more than a product of the system.

Of course, his shortcomings are also obvious, and he lacks some singles and back-to-body skills. He lacks defensive confrontation, and frequent injuries in the later stages of his career, which has always been somewhat different from the ranks of historical scorers.

In 2011, 33-year-old Peja joined the Mavericks and began to become a substitute firepower point. In that magical playoffs, he opened up space on the outside again and again, becoming the knife guard around Nowitzki, winning the only NBA championship in his career, and the only one among the Kings who retired with a ring. It was at this moment that his fate seemed to begin to draw a line with his former teammates. In 2014, the King held a jersey retirement ceremony for him. Facing the fans all over the court, Peja choked and said, "What we have built here is not only friendship, but also respect and support, just like brothers." At that moment, the whole of Sacramento seemed to have returned to the king who had a gorgeous attack that almost reached the top of the top ten years ago. Compared with his predecessors, Peja may not have that high historical status, but he can definitely be regarded as a pioneer of European players.

He is the first European to win the All-Star individual event; the first European player to enter the top four in the MVP vote. Together with several European faces from the same generation, the NBA has completely changed its view of European players. They are not soft, and these players can also become the team's core firepower..

"We have more or less opened a door for young players to make NBA scouts more willing to believe in children from Europe."