Kings' Peja Stojakovic hilariously recalls Hedo Turkoglu trash talk rookie year
10/30/2024 10:31 PM
The Sacramento Kings are getting desperate very early this season going by De’Aaron Fox’s public callouts. Fox is using might-leave-town language to describe how the Kings must play against the weakest Western Conference foes. It is not a good sign and some Sacramento legends might let the current Kings know about it. Peja Stojakovic recalled how Hedo Turkoglu was not afraid to voice an opinion as a rookie, even at a time when overseas talents were trash-talked relentlessly.
“Hedo's rookie year we were playing Cliff Robinson,” Stojakovic began. “I think Cliff Robinson was with the Phoenix Suns and Cliff, at that time, he was already 34, 35 (years old). Back in the day, you could not talk trash to veteran players. They will check you.”
Apparently, that did not stop Turkoglu.
“So Hedo's screaming from the bench,” continues Stojakovic. (Turkoglu) is learning new terminology in practice and he's like talking about it. He's yelling ‘Let him shoot, let him shoot’ and so Cliff looks at us. It’s like ‘Who's this guy, like who's this guy does he ever play?’ And Hedo's been talking trash. Then later on after the game as Chris (Webber) was talking to Cliff, Hedo was coming out of the locker room. Cliff calls him. ‘Come over here young fella. You can't do that man, I mean I understand if you play and you talk trash but you don't even play.'”
Kings passed on Hedo Turkoglu’s best years
Hedo Turkoglu was a first-round pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2000, adding another layer of overseas seasoning to a locker room with Vlade Divac and Stojakovic. The first Turkish NBA player was earning Sixth Man of the Year votes after the 2001-02 season. Turkoglu averaged over 10 points and almost five rebounds per game in a far more stuffy era of offensive basketball.
The San Antonio Spurs saw an opportunity but only got Turkoglu for one season (2003-04). A move over to the Orlando Magic in free agency brought out the best in a budding star. Turkoglu won Most Improved Player (2008) and helped shoot the Magic into the NBA Finals the following year. Unfortunately for Turkoglu, Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers were too much for the Dwight Howard-led squad to handle.
A stint with the Toronto Raptors turned sour quickly. The stopover with the Phoenix Suns lasted six months (July 2010-December 2010). Then it was back to the Magic for four more legacy-defining seasons near Disney World. Turkoglu closed out his NBA career with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Now Turkoglu stays in the gym by running the Turkish National Team program. It is an impressive journey considering European players in the early 2000's were just really starting to become a consistent thing in the NBA. Dirk Nowitzki had been drafted in 1998, Stojakovic came over in 1996, and other stars like Pau Gasol found an NBA home in 2001.
Turkoglu was a crucial part of that first wave of foreign players that made a big impact on the NBA though. A little trash talk in the 1990s is more than acceptable in hindsight. It also fits in perfectly on the Knuckleheads Podcast format.
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