Andrej Stojaković is the shooting guard for the Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team. Like many other players in the country today, he is following in the footsteps of his father, Peja Stojaković, who is an NBA legend.
Andrej was a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top players in the country in the 2023 class. He started his college basketball journey with the Stanford Cardinal in 2023, joined the California Golden Bears in 2024, and is currently with the Fighting Illini.
He was also a McDonald’s All-American in 2023. Andrej is known for his high basketball IQ, solid perimeter shooting, and ability to score at the rim. He is expected to be a second-round pick in the draft. When he makes it to the NBA, he’ll have some big shoes to fill.
His father, Peja, had a 14-year career in the NBA, a league where an average career span is just 4-5 years. During his run, Peja spent the most time with the Sacramento Kings, from 1998 to 2006. This is where he earned most of his career accomplishments.
Peja is a three-time All-Star, making the team in consecutive years from 2002 to 2004. He was on the All-NBA Second Team in 2004 and won the NBA Three Point Contest twice, in 2002 and 2003. The early ‘00s were the time when he was at his peak.
He retired from the league in 2011 with over 13.6k points, 3.7k rebounds, and 1.4k assists. In addition to that, he also had legendary runs in the Euro and Greek leagues. The crowning moment of his basketball career happened in 2011.
During his last stretch in the NBA, Peja was on the Dallas Mavericks team, led by the great Dirk Nowitzki, and he became an NBA Champion that year.
Andrej Stojaković Wants to be Like His Father
Most young players with famous NBA fathers wish to create their own lane. They want to break out of their father’s identity to find their own place in the league. Andrej has a different take on it.
While others want to be separated from their father’s legacy, he wants to live up to it. Andrej looks up to his father and wants to achieve the same success in the league.
“I know some guys just don’t even want to be compared to their dads who played in the league,” he said. “But I’d personally love to have as successful a career in the NBA as my dad did.”
Andrej wants to be successful and do everything on his own, but he isn’t going to shy away from following the blueprint of his father in order to get there.
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