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OFFICIAL Andrei Kirilenko Thread
#1
Definitely one of the most versatile and all around players of all times surely deserves a thread of his own. So post everything about Andrei here, for all his fans to find...

Quick Bio:

Andrei Gennadevich Kirilenko (born February 18, 1981 in Izhevsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional basketball player, playing at the forward position for the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association. He is 206 cm (6'9") tall and weighs 103 kg (227 lb). He is also known as AK-47.

On January 18, 1997, Andrei Kirilenko became the youngest player ever to compete in the Russian Superleague, scoring three points for his hometown Spartak Saint Petersburg against Spartak Moscow. After spending two seasons with Spartak Saint Petersburg, he joined CSKA Moscow in 1998. In his first season, he helped his new team win the Russian Superleague championship. He was also selected to participate in the Russian All-Star game, helping the West beat the East 138-107 and winning the slam dunk contest.

On June 30, 1999, at 18 years, 4 months, and 12 days, Kirilenko became the youngest European player at the time to be drafted in the National Basketball Association, when the Utah Jazz selected him with the 24th pick. However, he remained with CSKA Moscow for the next two seasons

Achievements:

RUSSIA

Two-time Russian Champion as a member of CSKA Moscow (1998/99 and 1999/2000 seasons)

MVP of the Russian Championship 1999/2000

Russian Champion -€œ 1995 as a member of the Saint Petersburg team for boys born in 1981 and after.

Russian Champion -€œ 1996 as a member of the Saint Petersburg team for boys born in 1980 and after.

Youngest player in the history of the Russian Superleague (15 years old)

MVP of the Adidas abc All-Star Camp -€œ 1997 for the best Russian players born in 1980 and 1981.

Russian All-Star Game participant in 1999 and 2000.

Winner of the Slam Dunk Contest at the Russian All-Star Game in 1999.

EUROPE

MVP of the World Championships for Young Men in 1999.

Silver Medalist at the European Championships for Junior Men in 1999. MVP of the tournament.

Silver Medalist at the All-World Youth Games - 1998.

Youngest participant ever of the European All-Star Game (18 years, 10 months and 10 days)

Participant in the Final Four of the FIBA Euroleague in 2000/01 Season.

Named best basketball player in Europe for the 2000/01 Season by Basket News.

Champion of the European Championship 2007. MVP of the tournament. (Was named one of the five best players of the tournament, where he scored 18 points, made 8,6 rebounds, 2,2 steals and 1,8 blocks per game. He led in steals (3,2 spg) and became third in blocks (1,8 bpg)).

NT Competitions:
2000 Olympic Games
2001 Eurobasket
2002 World Championship
2003 Eurobasket
2005 Eurobasket
2007 Eurobasket
2008 Olympic Games*

NBA

Youngest European player in the history of basketball selected in the NBA Draft (18 years, 4 months, and 12 days).

Named to the All-Tournament Team of the Rocky Mountain Revue -€œ 2001.

Participant in the NBA Rookie All-Star Game - 2001/02.

PERSONAL RECORDS IN THE NBA(CAREER HIGHS)

POINTS: 31, at Miami (02/17/2004).

FIELD GOALS:

Attempts - 21, vs. Seattle (01/25/2006)
Made - 11, at Detroit (03/15/2002), at Detroit (03/13/2005).
Percentage - 6/6 (100 %), vs. Milwaukee (12/04/2006).

3-POINTERS:

Attempts - 9, at Miami (02/17/2004).
Made - 5, at Miami (02/17/2004).
Percentage - 4/4 (100 %), at LA Lakers (12/08/2002).

FREE THROWS:

Attempts - 17, at Washington (03/19/2005), vs. Sacramento (02/03/2006).
Made - 16, vs. Sacramento (02/03/2006).
Percentage - 11/11 (100 %), at Golden State (11/07/2003), at Cleveland (03/19/2004).

REBOUNDS:

Defensive - 13, vs. Golden State (03/10/2004), vs. Phoenix (03/21/2006).
Offensive - 8, vs. Orlando (11/17/2003), vs. Seattle (02/24/2004).
Total - 18, vs. Phoenix (03/21/2006).

ASSISTS: 11, vs. Toronto (01/17/2006).
STEALS: 8, at Houston (12/03/2003).
SHOT BLOCKS: 10, vs. Sacramento (03/25/2006).
PLAYING TIME: 49 minutes, at Detroit (01/07/2006).

He is one out of just 7 NBA players who have made a five-by-five since 1986. Three times!!!
Respect and thanks for everything:

Alvertis, Bodiroga, Jasikevicius, Radja, Wilkins, Vrankovic, Fotsis, Rebraca, Kattash, Gentile, Koch, Middleton, Kutluay, Rogers, Papadopoulos, Becirovic, Tomasevic, Siskauskas, Pekovic, Lakovic, Vujanic, Chatzivrettas, Maljkovic, Spanoulis and many more to follow in the near future.
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#2
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Respect and thanks for everything:

Alvertis, Bodiroga, Jasikevicius, Radja, Wilkins, Vrankovic, Fotsis, Rebraca, Kattash, Gentile, Koch, Middleton, Kutluay, Rogers, Papadopoulos, Becirovic, Tomasevic, Siskauskas, Pekovic, Lakovic, Vujanic, Chatzivrettas, Maljkovic, Spanoulis and many more to follow in the near future.
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#3
His wife.... :maninlove: Agree
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#4
Going back 4 years in time... (Kirilenko's best season so far)

Quote:Kirilenko living his dream

LOS ANGELES -- Watching his now nearly 2-year-old son, Fedor, proud papa Andrei Kirilenko -- he all of 22 years in age -- can't help but admire the kid's consistency.

"Every day," Kirilenko said, "he's the same. He's happy every day."

Kirilenko strives to be just that way.

Always happy. Always playing with passion. Always striving to be the best.

So far, so good.


Tonight, the Jazz's third-season small forward plays in his first NBA All-Star Game -- completing a succession of seasons in which he worked his way from one level to the next, rising all the way.

A pro at age 15. MVP of the European Juniors Championships at 16, MVP of the World Junior Championships and FIBA Eurostars selection in 1999, MVP of the Russian Basketball Championships in 2000, Basket News' "Top Player in Europe" in 2001, NBA rookie game all-star in 2002, NBA Rookie Challenge sophomore all-star a season ago. And now, an NBA All-Star, only one major individual honor not yet on his resume.

"There's one more goal: To be MVP of the league," said Kirilenko, adding that it goes without saying winning "a ring" is even more important than that.

To get either, or even both, Kirilenko senses he will need to play with Fedor-like consistency.

"Right now," he said, "I realize there's a lot of guys that can play the highest level.

"It's pretty hard," Kirilenko added, "to work hard and be consistent. Extremely consistent . . . But, it's a goal."

Michael Jordan did it.

"When I was young, Michael Jordan was the best -- because he was the best player all-time," Kirilenko said. "And we, growing up on him, look at him only. I mean, rest of the guys were a little bit lower."

John Stockton did it, too. Karl Malone still does.

Then there are those a bit younger doing it now, all multi-time All-Stars: "Shaq, Duncan, Garnett . . . McGrady, Iverson, Jason Kidd."

Kirilenko knows not only the names, but also the history of the game.

It goes back to when he was young, learning fundamentals at Frunzenskaya Sports School in St. Petersburg, honing his skills at the Trinta Basketball School in Moscow.

"Seven years old," he said, "I start playing basketball."


It wasn't long after that he developed an appreciation for the sport, watching whatever NBA game happened to be televised that week in Russia, later taking in on TV back-to-back NBA Finals series pitting Jordan's winning Chicago Bulls against Stockton's and Malone's Utah Jazz.

"I'm watching Utah-and-Chicago games," Kirilenko said, "and, you know, boom -- I'm in Utah. And I'm playing with Karl and John, and I'm like, 'Wow, that's cool.' "

It's June 1999, and Kirilenko is at a training camp near Moscow, preparing for the youth world championships in Portugal.

The Jazz had three selections in the first round of the NBA Draft that year, and with the first, No. 19 overall, they took guard Quincy Lewis from Minnesota. With the third, No. 28 overall, they went with Scott Padgett, a forward from Kentucky. And in between, with the No. 24 pick of the draft, then-general manager Scott Layden tapped a skinny Russian they figured they could stash away for a couple of seasons overseas.


"I wake up in the morning, six o'clock," Kirilenko said. "My agent called me and he said, 'Utah draft you, 24.' And I was so excited."

Kirilenko, just 17 at the time, had heard rumors he might go 29th, to San Antonio.

"Twenty-four," he said. "I'm like, 'Oh, that's cool.' Previous year, Utah Jazz played against Chicago. I'm like, 'Wow, crazy.' "

Teammates in Russia started calling him "Truck," with reference to the big rig Malone once drove, and they kidded Kirilenko about riding on Malone's Harley-Davidson.

What they did not know then was that just more than five years later, Kirilenko, not 14-time selection Malone, would be the forward representing the Jazz in an All-Star Game.

"It's something I dreamed of," he said, "but I actually couldn't believe a dream this big would come true. I tell myself, Andrei, you're really here.' "

Before even making to America, however, Kirilenko would spend two seasons after the draft in Russia, honoring the final two years of his contract with CSKA of Moscow.

He would have it no other way. "I like to get my job done," Kirilenko said.

Not that he was really prepared, anyway: "I was a little bit young, maybe I wasn't ready enough mentally to play in NBA. Maybe I was a little bit weak."

In Utah, Kirilenko's been anything but, assuming an on-floor leadership role for the Jazz now that Stockton retired and Malone joined the Los Angeles Lakers.

He's a big reason the rebuilding Jazz are a surprising 26-27 at the break, leading them in not only scoring, but also ranking among league leaders in blocks and steals.

For Kirilenko, though, all that is not nearly enough.

Casually dropping an apparent Legend of Sleepy Hollow reference, he suggests the current Jazz are too erratic for his preference.

"I like our team. We're a young team," Kirilenko said. "(But) sometimes we're a little crazy, like not enough energy. You know that story about rider without head? That's who we are . . . because sometimes we (have) a lot of energy, but no brain."

Kirilenko vows to both raise his scoring average, and to help deliver the sort of steadier play Utah so desperately needs -- not only now, but for seasons to come.

"I can be All-Star for this season," he said, "but next season nobody knows.


"I'm an optimist. And I try to set the highest goal in my life every year," Kirilenko added. "It helps me. So I can step up, every time . . . I think, 'It's not enough.' I need to work more and more, to be much higher, much (more) consistent."

He wants more, because he has big plans that success now can only aid later.

Back home, Kirilenko is more anonymous than he is in Utah. He is even less well-known than his own wife, Russian pop star Masha Lopatova.

"In Russia," he said, "I don't think I'm (a) recognizable person, like here.

"I'm like a hockey player -- in a helmet. Everybody knows who Kirilenko is, but nobody knows my face . . . Ten million people live in Moscow, and I think maybe 300,000 or 500,000 know my face."


Yet that is where, maybe a decade from now, after his NBA days are done, he eventually hopes to return.

So those aforementioned plans can perhaps reach fruition.

"My dream: build a big complex," he said, "of hotel, soccer field, basketball court, maybe swimming pool, and a little hospital. Big facility.

. . . More for the kids, and kids coming from different countries."

Until then, Kirilenko can play with less weighty matters on his mind.

Don't worry. Be happy.

Just like his son, the one who doesn't even understand Dad is an All-Star.

"Fedor?" Kirilenko said. "He doesn't care right now."

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn..._n11439922
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
: BASKET-SPOT : - Global Basketball
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#5
Nearly a triple-double: 9 points + 10 assists + 6 rebs + 4 steals + 1 block as the Jazz beat the Grizzlies.

AK's typical all-around game!
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht.
: BASKET-SPOT : - Global Basketball
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#6
Oh....

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Respect and thanks for everything:

Alvertis, Bodiroga, Jasikevicius, Radja, Wilkins, Vrankovic, Fotsis, Rebraca, Kattash, Gentile, Koch, Middleton, Kutluay, Rogers, Papadopoulos, Becirovic, Tomasevic, Siskauskas, Pekovic, Lakovic, Vujanic, Chatzivrettas, Maljkovic, Spanoulis and many more to follow in the near future.
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#7
Quote:Oh....

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Justin Bieber is that you?!
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#8
Haha, great athlete, Russia needs more players like him Smile
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#9
Quote:Oh....

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what the f*ck!!!he's emo Rofl Taunt Laughing
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#10

Kirilenko: I would like to play in ACB
Respect and thanks for everything:

Alvertis, Bodiroga, Jasikevicius, Radja, Wilkins, Vrankovic, Fotsis, Rebraca, Kattash, Gentile, Koch, Middleton, Kutluay, Rogers, Papadopoulos, Becirovic, Tomasevic, Siskauskas, Pekovic, Lakovic, Vujanic, Chatzivrettas, Maljkovic, Spanoulis and many more to follow in the near future.
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