Former NBA star Peja Stojakovic appeared on the latest episode of the Knuckleheads Podcast, where he spoke about how life changes for players once they walk away from the game.
“We all have done purchases that we regret to this day,” Stojakovic said. “We all bought the cars we draw off of the lot and said like, ‘Why do I need this car?’ … It’s clothing, it’s watches, it’s clubs with the friends. We have done all of that. It’s part of it, but at some point, you just have to understand that when the ball stops, there’s a real life.
“There’s a real life and I think we all have gone through a transition of adjusting to a real life,” Stojakovic continued. “Because when the ball stops, nobody calls you anymore, and check stops too. The checks stop coming too. So, I think, for me, it was more so being prepared for life after basketball. I think, for me, that was important.”
Many players fail to realize just how drastically their lives change once they retire. The phone stops ringing as often as it once did, and they stop being the person everyone seemingly wants to be around.
That big paycheck stops coming too, which means they have to change the way they live as well. Some understand that fairly quickly, but others don’t. Gilbert Arenas claimed most retired players have hard bills from $100k to $300k per month. Arenas stated that by the time players understand they can’t continue living the way they had for years, they’d have blown millions.
Stojakovic, who reportedly earned close to $100 million in salaries during his time in the NBA, apparently didn’t fall into that category. He became a father in 2004 at the age of 27 and understood he couldn’t be reckless with his spending as he had to take care of his family.
Stojakovic retired in 2011 but a few years later, he was back in the NBA. In 2015, the Sacramento Kings appointed him director of player personnel and development, and three years later, he became the Assistant General Manager. Stojakovic would step down from the role in 2020.
While Peja’s time in the NBA appears to be over now, his son’s time might begin in a year or two. Andrej Stojakovic was a highly-rated prospect coming out of Jesuit High School and committed to playing for Stanford in 2022.
Andrej was expected to enter the 2024 NBA Draft but opted against doing so. He instead transferred to Cal this year and might be entering the league in 2025. If he does make it in, he’d be hoping to have an even better career than his father but it won’t be an easy task.
Peja spent 13 seasons in the NBA and ended his career with averages of 17.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game. He won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and made three All-Star teams as well. Stojakovic even finished fourth in MVP voting in 2004 and I believe the two-time three-point contest winner would have had even more success had he played in today’s NBA.
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