Kirilenko

Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko (Russian: Андрей Геннадьевич Кириленко; born February 18, 1981), is a Russian basketball executive and former professional player. Nicknamed AK-47, he played 10 seasons for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2001 and 2011. At age fifteen, Kirilenko began playing professional basketball in the Russian Basketball Super League. He played for CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001, winning league MVP honours in 2000. In 1999, he was selected by the Jazz with the 24th overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft. He 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. Kirilenko joined the Jazz in 2001 and played for the team until 2011. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team, was an NBA All-Defensive Team pick three times, played in the 2004 All-Star Game, and led the NBA in blocked shots in the 2004–05 season. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Kirilenko returned to Russia to play for CSKA Moscow, leading the team to the 2012 EuroLeague Final. That year, he was named the EuroLeague MVP, earned an All-EuroLeague first team selection and won the EuroLeague Best Defender award. Kirilenko returned to the NBA for the 2012–13 season to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves before finishing his NBA career as a member of the Brooklyn Nets in 2013–14. Kirilenko was a regular member of the Russian national team. He competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the EuroBasket title in 2007, earning MVP honors in the process. At EuroBasket 2011, he and his team won a bronze medal. He was selected to the All-Tournament Team on both occasions. Kirilenko was named FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year twice and won a Euroscar Player of the Year award in 2012. Kirilenko was elected president of the Russian Basketball Federation in 2015.