1. At age fifteen, Kirilenko began playing professional basketball in the Russian Basketball Super League.
42 Facts About Andrei Kirilenko
1. 2.
Andrei Kirilenko played for CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001, winning the Russian league MVP award in 2000.
3.
Andrei Kirilenko became the first Russian player selected in the first round of an NBA draft and the youngest European player ever chosen in the NBA draft.
4.
Andrei Kirilenko joined the Jazz in 2001 and played for the team until 2010.
5.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Andrei Kirilenko became a regular member of the Russian national team.
6.
Andrei Kirilenko was selected to the All-Tournament Team on both occasions.
7.
Andrei Kirilenko was named FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year twice and won a Euroscar Player of the Year award in 2012.
8.
Andrei Kirilenko was elected president of the Russian Basketball Federation in 2015.
9.
Andrei Kirilenko was born in the Soviet city of Izhevsk, Russia.
10.
In 1997, Andrei Kirilenko became the youngest player ever to compete in the Russian Super League, spending two seasons with Spartak Saint Petersburg.
11.
Andrei Kirilenko was the first Russian picked in the first round of an NBA Draft.
12.
Andrei Kirilenko joined the Utah Jazz on a rookie-scale contract in September 2001.
13.
Andrei Kirilenko was named to the first team on the NBA All-Rookie Team.
14.
Andrei Kirilenko would emerge as one of the top young players in the NBA, and one of the league's top weak-side defenders.
15.
Andrei Kirilenko was selected to play in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
16.
Andrei Kirilenko became the leader of the Jazz in 2003 after John Stockton retired and Karl Malone left Utah to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
17.
Andrei Kirilenko finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and fourth in Most Improved Player voting and was named to the second team on the All-NBA Defensive Team.
18.
Andrei Kirilenko was named to the first team on the NBA All-Defensive Team.
19.
Andrei Kirilenko bounced back to lead Russia to the championship in EuroBasket 2007, and was named MVP of the tournament.
20.
Amid the 2011 NBA lockout, Andrei Kirilenko returned to Russia to play for his old team CSKA Moscow.
21.
Andrei Kirilenko was named the EuroLeague MVP, earned an All-EuroLeague first team selection and won the EuroLeague Best Defender award.
22.
On July 27,2012, Andrei Kirilenko signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
23.
Andrei Kirilenko missed 18 games because of back spasms, then a right quadriceps strain, and finally a calf strain.
24.
On June 29,2013, Andrei Kirilenko opted out of the final year of his contract with the Timberwolves to become a free agent.
25.
On July 12,2013, Andrei Kirilenko signed a two-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
26.
On December 11,2014, Andrei Kirilenko was traded, along with Jorge Gutierrez, the Nets' second round draft pick in 2020 and the right to swap second round picks in 2018, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Brandon Davies.
27.
The 76ers suspended Andrei Kirilenko without pay on January 9,2015, for failing to report after the trade, and on February 21, he was waived by the 76ers before playing in a game for them.
28.
On June 23,2015, Andrei Kirilenko announced his retirement as a professional basketball player.
29.
The only time that Andrei Kirilenko played in a FIBA World Cup was at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, where the Russian team finished 10th out of 16 teams.
30.
Andrei Kirilenko has played at 4 more EuroBaskets: the EuroBasket 2003, the EuroBasket 2005, the EuroBasket 2007, where he won the gold medal of the competition, and was named the MVP of the tournament, and the EuroBasket 2011.
31.
Andrei Kirilenko won a bronze medal with Russia at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
32.
Andrei Kirilenko was re-elected to the post in August 2020.
33.
Andrei Kirilenko was a versatile "big man" who could play either forward spot.
34.
Andrei Kirilenko was noted for his high-level play in both offense and defense.
35.
Andrei Kirilenko was three times selected into the NBA All-Defensive First or Second Team.
36.
On January 3,2006, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Andrei Kirilenko posted a stat line of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals, and 7 blocks.
37.
In June 2015, FiveThirtyEight reviewed Andrei Kirilenko's statistics, finding that his efficiency in scoring, steals, blocks, assists, offensive rebounds, and all-around versatility would justify consideration for the Basketball Hall of Fame.
38.
Andrei Kirilenko is nicknamed "AK-47" in reference to his initials, the jersey number he wore, and the AK-47 rifle.
39.
Coincidentally, Andrei Kirilenko was born in the city of Izhevsk, in the former Soviet Union where the weapon was first manufactured.
40.
Andrei Kirilenko is married to Russian pop singer Masha "Marina" Lopatova, whose stage name is MaLo.
41.
Andrei Kirilenko met Lopatova at a youth basketball camp in Moscow, and Andrei Kirilenko appeared in one of Lopatova's music videos.
42.
Sources suggest Andrei Kirilenko was a World of Warcraft gamer while playing in the NBA.