Andrey Kirilenko is a Russian basketball player who managed to achieve real success in the NBA. For about ten years he played for the Utah Jazz club. At the moment, Kirilenko is the president of the RBF (Russian Basketball Federation).
Life before moving to the NBA
Andrey Gennadyevich Kirilenko was born on February 18, 1981 in Udmurtia, however, he spent all his childhood in St. Petersburg. It is worth noting that his family was very athletic: his mother is a professional basketball player, his father is a coach of a women's football team.
Andrei began to attend basketball classes in the first grade. And when he turned 15, he made his debut in St. Petersburg “Spartak” (and in fact became the youngest player in the championship of the Russian Federation in recent history). In the first season, the Spartak coach let him out on the floor only from time to time, so that he would gain experience. However, in the second season, Andrei was able to gain a foothold in the base.
At the age of 17, he already brought his club an average of 10 points per match, which attracted the attention of many fans and basketball experts.
In 1997, Andrei was recognized as the most valuable player in the European Junior Championship. In this championship, Russia with Kirilenko confidently won silver.
In the summer of 1998, Kirilenko moved to the capital and began playing for the country's main basketball club - CSKA. And very soon, Andrew became one of his key players. For three seasons in CSKA, he has consistently improved his statistics. In the 1998/1999 season - he earned 12.4 points on average per match, and in 2000/2001 this figure was already 14.5 points. In addition, in the 2000/2001 season, Kirilenko, together with CSKA, managed to reach the semi-finals of the Suproliga - the prestigious European club tournament held under the auspices of FIBA. Unfortunately, in the semifinal stage, the army team were defeated by the Maccabi club from Israel.
Basketball career from 2001 to today
In 2001, Kirilenko went abroad, to the United States. He was given the chance to play in the NBA - he was drafted by the Utah Jazz team from Salt Lake City. And according to the results of the first season in the NBA, he was noted as one of the five best debutants of the League. Andrey proved himself to be a disciplined player who knows how to work in a team and clearly follows the coaching instructions.
In the summer of 2003, the Utah club simultaneously lost two of its main stars - Karl Malone, hoping to become the NBA champion at the end of his career, moved to the Lakers, and John Stockton even announced his retirement from the sport. As a result, Kirilenko became, in fact, the main striker of the team. Now he had to take the initiative in attacking himself, and he completely coped with the responsibilities that were assigned to him. That season, he became the best Utah Jazz player not only in terms of performance (16.2 points on average per game), but also in rebounds (8.1) and block shots (2.8).
Andrei played for the team from Salt Lake City until 2011. But during this period he was noted as the leader of the Russian basketball team. Moreover, in July 2008, Kirilenko carried the white-blue-red flag of the Russian Federation at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. However, in general, the Russian basketball team performed poorly at the Beijing tournament - the guys did not even go to the playoffs.
After leaving Utah Jazz, Andrew played for some time in two more NBA clubs - Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets. And in February 2015, he again returned to CSKA. However, after a couple of months (at the end of the season), the famous athlete announced that he was completing his playing career. In the same 2015, Kirilenko was elected to the post of head of the RBF.
