Will Kings Retire Peja's Jersey?

Glenn

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#61
#61
MizzouKing said:
Hey look, we're a rinky-dink organization that has had some sunshiney moments and is truely going somewhere...somewhere where success is both attained and sustainable. Were it not for that team with Peja, we might never have the ambitions we now have, and we might not believe that greatness is even possible for the Sacramento Kings. We know it is, because we've seen it. If, on the journey we're taking, those taking us there want to celebrate the parts of our Kings story that remind us of these things, then I am all for it. Retire that jersey. Hang it high and proud. And if we run out of room, well hell...we'll just build a bigger arena. ;)
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Olden Polynice was an interesting if not unforgettable character on our slow trudge to the top. :)
 
upinsmoke

upinsmoke

All-Star
#62
#62
I said it once I'll say it again we should have won in 02 and if we would have been given a fairly ref'd series we undoubtedly would have hung at least one banner. Hang #16 high!
 
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SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#63
#63
Oh some of you are just ridiculous....
Stojakovic took over that team in 2004 when Webber went down with an injury. Stojakovic finished second in the nba in ppg and led the league in other areas. Mind you, a time where Shaq, Kobe, T-Mac, AI etc were all in their prime. Pegs also finished 4th...4TH IN MVP voting. That's pretty damn remarkable.
He is also THE best shooter this franchise has ever had hands down nobody could compete. He's also THE best pure shooter born outside the United States EVER. Top 10 (I personally think top 5) pure shooter the NBA has ever seen. Some say Drazen was better but that is not true. Like Jordan, Drazen was a pure scorer. His 3 point shot was something he had to work really hard on like Jordan and Kobe did. For Peja Ray-Ray and Reggie Miller, it comes naturally for them. Factor in all the stats that he has accomplished for this franchise being a top 5 leader in most categories and factoring in all that he has done for the community of Sacramento (which is enough in itself), Peja Stojakovic DESERVES to have his number retired. I remember as a kid, people at my school all wanted to be Peja. Not Webber, not Bibby, not Vlade nor anyone else from that franchise. We all walked around with #16 on our backs proud and happy. Also, if Kings won the championship in 2002 (like we should have), not only would you guys want #16 retired but you'd be saying "what took us so long"....
Despite what the books say, that team won an nba championship an they also won the hearts of many other nba team fans. I know that 90% of the world was cheering for Sac to beat those lakers. That in itself will never be repeated again nor will we see an nba team that played with some ease, excitement and enjoyment ever again.
Instead of being embarrassed by your organization, you should be proud that we were able to field The Best Show on Court.

For those of you saying that we aren't setting the bar high enough, you're wrong.
If anything, this will encourage our current youngsters like Big Cuz, Ben Mac, Ray-Mac and Stauskus to work even harder. In hopes that they too will get their number retired. I think Big Cuz already has one foot in the door if he can maintain his sportsmanship (something else that #4, #21, and #16 all had).

Also, some of you forget that Peja is a white European. While some of you think color and ethnic background don't matter, it definitely limits you in the game of basketball. For the diversity that Peja and Vlade had to overcome, they sure as hell earned everything that they were awarded.


PEJA, #16 is yours FOREVER.
We love you. I know I'm going to make sure I take my finals a week early so that I can show be there Dec 16th, 2014, to support our fellow King. :')
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#65
#65
Btw in that 2004 season when he finished 4th in MVP voting
The only 3 people that beat him were HOF'ers and all in their prime
KG

But that didn't stop Peja from finishing ahead of Kobe, Shaq, J-Kidd and Dirk who are all HOF'ers
You guys are so damn quick to forget....
 
macadocious

macadocious

Starter
#66
#66
Just stop please. Arguing since a person was once 4th in MVP voting that is deserving of a retired jersey is asinine. I am not 100% against this, I loved Peja. But like some other posters have stated a lot of us see the retiring of numbers akin to a player being in the HOF. There are special situations, like Vlade, where he meant much more to this team and city than just his raw numbers, but those situations are rare.
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#68
#68
macadocious said:
Just stop please. Arguing since a person was once 4th in MVP voting that is deserving of a retired jersey is asinine. I am not 100% against this, I loved Peja. But like some other posters have stated a lot of us see the retiring of numbers akin to a player being in the HOF. There are special situations, like Vlade, where he meant much more to this team and city than just his raw numbers, but those situations are rare.
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We're a small market team. It's not like we have a Jordan, Kobe or LeBron to look forward to LOL
C-Webb and probably Cousins now are the closest thing we'll ever have to a franchise player such as that aka a HOF.

I listed plenty of reason why Peja should have his jersey retired, so don't try to play off of that 2004 4th in MVP voting thing. Stojakovic didn't have just a good season with the Kings...he had an amazing career with us.
That is all...
 
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SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#70
#70
macadocious said:
So because we are a small market team we should start retiring numbers of players that wouldn't have them retired on large market teams?
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No, you retire numbers based on the impact they had on your franchise.
Vlade, Peja and Webber had a huge impact on our community. In fact, if it wasn't for the culture that they brought to our organization and increased international fan base, I highly doubt we would still be in Sac. We'd be a new Seattle Supersonics team right about now.

So, STOP.
 
rainmaker

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#72
#72
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
No, you retire numbers based on the impact they had on your franchise.
Vlade, Peja and Webber had a huge impact on our community. In fact, if it wasn't for the culture that they brought to our organization and increased international fan base, I highly doubt we would still be in Sac. We'd be a new Seattle Supersonics team right about now.

So, STOP.
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Well, good thing we're getting a new and bigger arena, as we'll need a lot of space in the rafters for all this.

I'd say given your argument, JWill should get his jersey retired too. He probably brought in more international fans than any King in history, and since we might be in Seattle without that, why not hang his number in the rafters? Likely means Bibby and Doug should go up there too. I don't want to leave out BJax though, the greatest 6th man we've ever had and key piece to that 02 squad. Also, great in the community, lived here and did lots for the area well after retiring from the game. Can't forget the "Michael Jordan" of Turkey either. He brought in a number of Turkish fans and since we're branching out and going global, might as well put Hedo's number up there. All publicity is good publicity and it will help extend our brand internationally.

If we're talking about positive culture brought here, Rick deserves recognition too. Maybe we can hang one of his suit jackets up in the rafters.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#74
#74
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
No, you retire numbers based on the impact they had on your franchise.
Vlade, Peja and Webber had a huge impact on our community. In fact, if it wasn't for the culture that they brought to our organization and increased international fan base, I highly doubt we would still be in Sac. We'd be a new Seattle Supersonics team right about now.

So, STOP.
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I think Slamson has performed at more home games than any individual player since coming here and has been in more community events (blood drives, rallies, school events, etc.) than anyone else associated with the Kings. He has been incredible, and only missed one home game since 1997 from what I have read. He really engages and entertains the crowd, even when the product on the floor was not the best.

When do we hang up the giant "S"?
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#75
#75
rainmaker said:
Well, good thing we're getting a new and bigger arena, as we'll need a lot of space in the rafters for all this.

I'd say given your argument, JWill should get his jersey retired too. He probably brought in more international fans than any King in history, and since we might be in Seattle without that, why not hang his number in the rafters? Likely means Bibby and Doug should go up there too. I don't want to leave out BJax though, the greatest 6th man we've ever had and key piece to that 02 squad. Also, great in the community, lived here and did lots for the area well after retiring from the game. Can't forget the "Michael Jordan" of Turkey either. He brought in a number of Turkish fans and since we're branching out and going global, might as well put Hedo's number up there. All publicity is good publicity and it will help extend our brand internationally.

If we're talking about positive culture brought here, Rick deserves recognition too. Maybe we can hang one of his suit jackets up in the rafters.
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I'm ok with Bibby's jersey being retired. However, I don't think he was as impactful as Peja, Vlade and Webber overall.
It must be said that no matter which team Peja went to, he opened up space for his teammates. His presence even in his retiring days for the Mavs against the Lakers was huge. He spread the floor even when he didn't have the ball in his hands. It was a HUGE presence. Every coach that has ever coached him praised him on that indefinitely. I think when all is said and done, it's possible for Bibby's jersey to be retired and I won't be against it. He brought a lot of happiness to this franchise like the other 3 did. He also made some BIG shots for us and was our most clutch player in regular season and playoffs. You don't have to have HOF'er talent to have your jersey retired. It's all about what that particular individual brought to a specific organization and if it weighs out.

Doug and Hedo didn't stay long enough with the Kings nor were they of the caliber that Peja, Vlade and Webber were.
Even though Doug is one of my fav players of all time.
Same applies to BJax. Even though he was also one of my favorite players.
Brad Miller was a force as well but again it's all about the influence a player had on the franchise. Nobody can compare to Vlade, Webber and Peja.
I personally think that Vlade brought more awareness to King and was a bigger influence than even Webber. Vlade is still involved even to this day. I have no doubt he will be joining our organization very soon. Maybe Peja as well.

It still stands that Webber was our only HOF'er talent from that era. However, HOF isn't a requirement for having your jersey retired....
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#76
#76
It's sad when there are more members from opposing teams in the league who are happy about Peja's jersey retirement than there are on this board. And you guys call yourselves "proud kings fans" haha

Go to Reddit /NBA and you'll how all the other fans from around the league remember what a big contribution Peja was not only to Sac but to the rest of the league. He's the #2 trending topic in that subreddit.

Nice try "kingsfans"
 
L

Livinthedream

All-Star
#77
#77
I don't want to pile on, because I think most of us agree. If you can retire Peja's number, then that whole starting 5 and Bjax should be in play.

I'm not big on number retirement to begin with, but what I feel when we retire Peja's number is that the organization is saying that that's as good as we are going to be. I don't like that feeling at all. I want to save jersey retirement for the guy who leads our championship team.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#78
#78
I think there are two ways to look at this. One is looking at it from the perspective of the entire history of the franchise going all the way back to the Syracuse Royals up to now. The other is from the perspective of the history of the Sacramento Kings. If its the former, then I don't think Peja deserves to have his number up there next to Oscar Robertson's. But if just from the Sacramento perspective, then yes, why not. Of course if you go with the latter, then you probably have to separate the jerseys. Personally, I really don't care one way or another, unless someone can convince me that it'll result in more wins for next season.
 
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SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#80
#80
Livinthedream said:
I don't want to pile on, because I think most of us agree. If you can retire Peja's number, then that whole starting 5 and Bjax should be in play.

I'm not big on number retirement to begin with, but what I feel when we retire Peja's number is that the organization is saying that that's as good as we are going to be. I don't like that feeling at all. I want to save jersey retirement for the guy who leads our championship team.
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How the hell do you retire a sixth man. A player who never averaged more than 15ppg in his career and is not named Vlade...
I love BJax but retiring his number is pushing it. I would however put up a 6th man banner of him somewhere in the new building considering he is still with us and loves Sac.
I already gave my explanation of Doug. The only players to put worthy numbers to get their jerseys retired were Webber and Peja from that organization and Vlade was the X factor. I think any organization (including the Lakers if he had stayed there forever) would have retired Vlade's number.

Sounds like you have an inferiority complex. Maybe you should be a Lakers fan and enjoy their illustrious list of retired HOF'er jerseys.
You do realize that the Kings have never won an NBA championship (and probably never will considering how larger market teams are thriving even more in this industry). The closest we ever got in the modern era is with that team. In fact, 2002 should be ours but that goes without being said.
 
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SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#81
#81
macadocious said:
Just look at this list

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_retired_jersey_numbers

Peja is way down low compared to most of the numbers retired. Look at our team, we have some of the most retired numbers and haven't won a title since Baja was a kid. I guess this is how our team operates, regardless of ownership.
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Refer to my post above.

Time for you to join the Lakers fan club because you seem to only enjoy HOF'er talents and NBA Championships.
Typical bandwagoner status. Maybe you'll be a Cavs fan now too.

Unlike you, I appreciate what that team gave to this organization. I like where this team is headed and retiring this jersey can only help motivate our young players even more.
I know Ben Mac is motivated to have his new number retired. Probably won't ever get there but I'm sure it's now in the back of his mind for the upcoming season.
 
macadocious

macadocious

Starter
#83
#83
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
Refer to my post above.

Time for you to join the Lakers fan club because you seem to only enjoy HOF'er talents and NBA Championships.
Typical bandwagoner status. Maybe you'll be a Cavs fan now too.

Unlike you, I appreciate what that team gave to this organization. I like where this team is headed and retiring this jersey can only help motivate our young players even more.
I know Ben Mac is motivated to have his new number retired. Probably won't ever get there but I'm sure it's now in the back of his mind for the upcoming season.
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You seriously need to stop your sniping. I went to my first game in 1989 when I moved here. I have been a Kings fan since that moment. Just because I don't feel like retiring the jerseys of "really good players" vs "great players" does not make me, nor the others here bandwagon fans.

I sat court side at the first Playoff game in the Arco 2 in 1995. I waited in line for 4 hours for those tickets, back when you had to go to a bass ticket outlet.
 
upinsmoke

upinsmoke

All-Star
#84
#84
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
It's sad when there are more members from opposing teams in the league who are happy about Peja's jersey retirement than there are on this board. And you guys call yourselves "proud kings fans" haha

Go to Reddit /NBA and you'll how all the other fans from around the league remember what a big contribution Peja was not only to Sac but to the rest of the league. He's the #2 trending topic in that subreddit.

Nice try "kingsfans"
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STR did a poll on the subject and there was overwhelming support for Peja but if you read the thread you would assume the opposite. I don't know what exactly the deal is but I've been around these parts long enough I have seen the pitchforks and it usually comes from a small minority.

There is definitely a new generation of Kings fans brewed from the internet and what have you but we still have the best fans bar none.
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#85
#85
LOL

Are you really comparing the Bulls to the Kings?!? haha

They had the two best players of all time on their team and won MULTIPLE NBA championships.

Stop now before you keep embarrassing yourself.

Unlike Chicago, a big market team, the Kings will never attract HOF'er talent. We may draft one, but by the time that player becomes good, he will be outta here so fast. It's the modern market.
It took everything in our power to convince an average player like Rudy Gay to stay with us for 1 extra season lol.
and a Max contract when nobody else would offer one to Big Cuz to convince him to stay.
Just be a little bit more realistic with yourself.
We have to be happy with what we have. That era was the best this franchise ever experienced. You'd be crazy to think that some of those players would not have their jerseys retired. They competed and sometimes beat teams that had HOF'er top 50 players of all time ala Kobe, Shaq/ Stockton, Malone/ Duncan, Robinson etc.
We went head to head with each of those franchise. That would be the equivalent to going head to head with today with the Spurs or the newly formed Cavs.
If we could do that for 8 years straight, then, hell yes would I retire Big Cuz's jersey and whoever else brought that success to this franchise. They put us back on the map. The whole league loved the Kings. One of the main reasons was because of those numbers that are hanging high up there always there to remind us that the future is BRIGHT.
 
rainmaker

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#86
#86
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
It's sad when there are more members from opposing teams in the league who are happy about Peja's jersey retirement than there are on this board. And you guys call yourselves "proud kings fans" haha

Go to Reddit /NBA and you'll how all the other fans from around the league remember what a big contribution Peja was not only to Sac but to the rest of the league. He's the #2 trending topic in that subreddit.

Nice try "kingsfans"
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I'm not sure where one Kings fan gets off telling others what kind of fans they are based on opinions on whether or not Peja should get his number retired.

Many here know damn well what Peja was as a player, were fans before Peja arrived, have been through far more losing seasons than winning seasons, yet are still here. So please, save the holier than thou shtick for somewhere else. A number here do not need to be lectured by you on Peja, his career, what he meant or what a "proud" fan" should or should not believe, nor is a Peja subreddit adequate evidence of really, anything.
 
S

SacKings2002NBAChampions

Guest
#87
#87
rainmaker said:
I'm not sure where one Kings fan gets off telling others what kind of fans they are based on opinions on whether or not Peja should get his number retired.

Many here know damn well what Peja was as a player, were fans before Peja arrived, have been through far more losing seasons than winning season, yet are still here. So please, save the holier than thou shtick for somewhere else. A number here do not need to be lectured by you on Peja, his career, what he meant or what a "proud" fan" should or should not believe in, nor is a Peja subreddit adequate evidence of really, anything.
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Most of those people are "Kings fans" by their location. They live in Sac, thus, they are Kings fans. They slave away on the internet bragging how big of a Kings fan they are.

You can't tell me you're a proud fan of your club when you're slamming the very names that made this organization what it is today. That's the equivalent to slamming the founding fathers for the U.S. lol
It's unpatriotic, if you will.

I, as a Kings fan, will always be here in support of retiring a # that made this organization a better place.

BTW, I wonder how many of you would still be Kings fans if the team moved to Seattle, ha.
 
Padrino

Padrino

All-Star
#89
#89
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
Most of those people are "Kings fans" by their location. They live in Sac, thus, they are Kings fans. They slave away on the internet bragging how big of a Kings fan they are.

You can't tell me you're a proud fan of your club when you're slamming the very names that made this organization what it is today. That's the equivalent to slamming the founding fathers for the U.S. lol
It's unpatriotic, if you will.

I, as a Kings fan, will always be here in support of retiring a # that made this organization a better place.

BTW, I wonder how many of you would still be Kings fans if the team moved to Seattle, ha.
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why so relentlessly aggressive and combative? it's perfectly legitimate to question both the need and motivation for retiring peja stojakovic's number. doing so doesn't mean that an individual is not a committed and supportive kings fan. as with patriotism, there is always room for valid and constructive criticism amongst the flag-waving...
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#90
#90
SacKings2002NBAChampions said:
Most of those people are "Kings fans" by their location. They live in Sac, thus, they are Kings fans. They slave away on the internet bragging how big of a Kings fan they are.

You can't tell me you're a proud fan of your club when you're slamming the very names that made this organization what it is today. That's the equivalent to slamming the founding fathers for the U.S. lol
It's unpatriotic, if you will.

I, as a Kings fan, will always be here in support of retiring a # that made this organization a better place.

BTW, I wonder how many of you would still be Kings fans if the team moved to Seattle, ha.
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Stop.

I make some allowances for the young not knowing what they do and lacking perspective. I may have to apply that to the young ownership too, although I suspect this has a more cynical origin than all that. They want to retire a jersey on their own. And they want, in Maloofian fashion, to distract from the lack of exciting oncourt news with what they think will be an exciting event.

Doesn't change the fact Peja was a 2nd tier player, even by Kings terms. He has a good claim on being the best 2nd tier player the Kings have had, but he still clearly was no franchise guy or legend. He was a great great shooter who came up small in the clutch and didn't like the dirty work. He sat out with minor injuries. His production collapsed once he lost BFF Vlade, who probably deserves credit for some proportion of his points. During our closest call of winning it all, he barely played, shot 7-23 in the series, and 0-6 from 3ptland in the deciding Game 7, including famously airballing one late in the game. When you end up retiring the 3rd most important player on a team's number, you damn well better have won at least one title for each of those retired numbers. Peja wasn't a franchise guy, and he kinda quit on us after 03-04. In the end he was a 2nd tier guy who gave us 4 really good seasons.
 
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