Peja Stojakovic is the Greatest Small Forward on the Planet


In my last game recap, I was a bit unfair to Peja, criticizing him for his defense and giving him faint praise for the fact he was dropping threes like they were layups.  So here’s my mea culpa.  Peja Stojakovic, according to the stats I love so much, is currently better than than Paul Pierce and Rudy Gay.  He’s better than Carmelo Anthony and Gerald Wallace.  Kevin Durant?  Pshaw.

Peja Stojakovic is currently leading Small Forwards in PER, producing a 25.93.  So forget all that trade talk.  I mean, last game  he became the most prolific Serbian Scorer in the NBA of all time, passing Vlade Divac for that honor.   Just get him the damn ball and get out of the way!

Am I right, or am I right?


33 responses to “Peja Stojakovic is the Greatest Small Forward on the Planet”

  1. 9th in the league in three point percentage

    3rd in the league in adjusted FG% among players who have played at least 4 games

    According to 82games.com, his opposition is only averaging a PER of 8.1

    And he has three, count them, THREE additional heads.

  2. Hey, no need to make fun of Peja. I allways loved everything posted here but that is just a sarcastic comment based on the few minutes he played this season so far. The thing is not to call him the best ever, the once ever nor the future to be, what the hornets need to be succesfull is just to find a good role for him, based on matchups or needs, or find a good trade for him. But the Greatest SF in the planet remark as well the Peja starter = +20 point differential is kinda a joke of bad taste for me. As i read here before, he is a class act off the court, he always tried to do his best and he is prepared for any role we can find him. The lone thing i liked in this article is the 3 head comment. couldnt stop laughing!

      • Yeah, i can understand that IS a funny stat, but i knew a lot of trash would come after Peja. Not the biggest Peja fan here, but no need to do that to that poor man ( yeah yeah, he took us some dollars! =P)

  3. I always love me some peja heads :no homo: but the guy is definitely moving faster than last year…. Quick get me some “four” before they take it off the shelves of the bodegas here in NY

  4. My wife noticed the heads dint quite run across the floor as fast as they used to. Maybe Peja found one of the step’s he’s lost and the 3 bonus heads havent caught up?

  5. lol.. Did you guys post this in response to my comments last game? You guys have been tough on Peja, as have most comments on here from readrs. Good to see sense of humor and goo hornets get revenge 2nite.

  6. @Leonard Nimoy

    If I bagged more chicks than any guy on my block, would that make me a prolific scorer or just a overhyped Mike Lowry, mea maxima culpa?

  7. disrespectful comment..
    The guy has been professional and never caused an issue with the team.
    I am really hoping he keeps playing well in the minutes he does, so you regret your comment in the future.

  8. I always enjoyed reading your observations about basketball, they were always pretty good and unbiased. But to be honest, your last recap about Peja was unfair. I can tell you at least ten different situations in which other players were too slow, or lost in transition, but you never mention that, just Peja.

    When somebody else mentioned the same thing I did above, your ego did not allow you to just let the comment go. Your response even worse than the article you wrote. You were sarcastic and condenscending and you did not show any respect for Peja, who has always been am exemplary athlete.

    I absolutely believe that no one should be constantly credited for their old accomplishments. But they also should not be bashed when they are doing something good for their team. He is not the “best in the world,” but he is still a good player.

    I am very surprised at your comments because Peja is on the team that you support.

  9. Why all this extremism? Why can’t Peja be a really great shooting 2nd teamer whose deficiencies on defense an be hidden somewhat in a team defense model?

    Think of it this way. If you knew Peja would play in 2011-12 the way he did so far this year, would you want the Hornets to sign him to a $2-3m/year contract for one year? I would, hands down. Where else can you find a shooter for that kind of money? And many championship teams have had guys on their bench who were great shooters but not great defenders (Steve Kerr anybody?)

  10. GUY SETTLE

    its all obviously a joke in good fun, its pretty much impossible to dislike Peja, he is the consumate professional and gives so much effort in order to make him and the team better, i personally love the guy and hes one of my favorite hornets, but this is OBVIOUSLY a JOKE and those comments were bloody hilarious. It just seems there are constantly people on this blog that cant take a joke…

  11. ohh please, you people got nothing better to do then to make fun of the 4th 3point leader and 4th free throw% of all time? he might not be the best small forward right now but at one point he was. i don’t see David West playing any defense, whats hes excuse? peja has been in he league 13 years and hes been playing pro basketball since 16, also had back surgery. He could still score 20+ points on any night if he started. Just because the hornets don’t know how to use him don’t blame it on peja. if a first or second option peja can be the leading scorer in a team, i hope the hornets trade him asap, so he can get some playing time, then will see who’s laughing. the guy is still among the best shooters in the league and if playing up tempo basketball like the kings did from 99-04 or the hornets did in 2007 when they won 56 games he would still be in the starting line up for the hornets.

  12. I can feel other hornets fans feeling bad about our last season’s and expectations. But seriously man get the fuck off peja’s back ;). Unfortunately he never was a messiah for the hornets team but still he his one of the game all time best shooters and personally i ve enjoyed watching him play for the past 15 years. At least show some respect .

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