NBA Draft 2016: Every team’s most underrated pick ever
By Brad Rowland
Sacramento Kings: Peja Stojakovic, No. 14 pick, 1996 NBA Draft
Can you imagine what Peja Stojakovic would have done in the “pace and space” era of the NBA?
Stojakovic is, by all accounts, one of the best shooters in NBA history and that matters in any era. He completed a 13-year career with 1,760 three-point field goals, and Stojakovic made that type of ridiculous volume in an efficient way, converting more than 40 percent of his career attempts.
At his peak in Sacramento, Stojakovic also wasn’t “just” a shooter. He averaged 21.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game over a five-season sample in the early 2000’s, and Stojakovic was an all-court force at times. Though he would never be confused with a lock-down defensive player, he was passable at that end during his prime, and Stojakovic’s floor-spacing helped Sacramento’s offense to really flourish.
The Kings do have some quality draft picks in the past, highlighted by Oscar Robertson, Tiny Archibald, Otis Thorpe, Hedo Turkoglu and, more recently, DeMarcus Cousins. However, Peja Stojakovic was a legitimate All-Star force in his prime, and he is largely remembered as a role player who happened to shoot well. That’s a misnomer if I’ve ever seen one.
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