Peja Stojakovic To Retire From NBA

Peja Stojakovic, one of the best shooters in NBA history, has announced that he will be retiring from the NBA at the age of 34 and after 13 seasons. Stojakovic, a three-time all-star, won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, his first and only season with the Mavs and also Stojakovic’s first trip to the NBA Finals:

Stojakovic told ESPN.com on Monday that the physical toll caused by a string of back and neck troubles, at age 34, convinced the three-time All-Star that “it’s time” to step away from the game despite interest from a handful of contenders in signing the sharpshooter away from the Mavericks.

“When you start competing against your body more than you’re preparing for the actual game,” Stojakovic said, “it’s a wakeup call.”

In his prime, most notably with the Sacramento Kings, Stojakovic secured a reputation as a deadly threat from three-point range, evidenced by his career .401 percentage from deep. “Peja” was also near perfect from the free-throw line, leading the league twice (.927 in 03-04 and .926 in 07-08) and has a career free-throw percentage of .895, good for 4th all-time.

In his 13-year career after being drafted 14th overall by the Kings (one spot behind Kobe Bryant) in a loaded 1996 NBA Draft which also produced all-stars Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, and Steve Nash, Stojakovic averaged 17 ppg, 4.7 rpg and ranks in the top 5 in three-point field goals (1760) and three point attempts (4392).