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Andrei Kirilenko
One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Andrei Kirilenko: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you have a better example of his signature, or a story about it, the note at the foot of this page still stands.
A professional at 15 in Russia, Kirilenko was league MVP at CSKA Moscow by 2000 and the first Russian ever taken in the NBA's first round — 24th to Utah in 1999, the youngest European drafted to that point. Over ten Jazz seasons the man they called AK-47 made the 2004 All-Star Game and three All-Defensive teams, led the league in blocks in 2004–05, and carried the roster after Stockton retired and Malone left.
He went home during the 2011 lockout and was named EuroLeague MVP with CSKA, closed his NBA run with Minnesota and Brooklyn, and won EuroBasket 2007 as tournament MVP for Russia. In 2015 he was elected president of the Russian Basketball Federation.
HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah drafted him 24th overall in 1999, then waited two years and signed him in September 2001 once his release from CSKA Moscow was secured. His contract expired after ten seasons, and with the 2011 lockout on he went home to CSKA rather than wait — by his own account there was little talk with Utah, the club had other forwards, and with the lockout on Russia simply made more sense.
- Full name
- Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko
- Utah Jazz tenure
- 2001–11
- Position
- Forward
- Born
- 1981, Izhevsk, Russia
- Height
- 6′9″ (206 cm)
- Weight
- 225 lb (102 kg)
- Drafted
- 1999, 1st round (No. 24), Utah
With the Jazz
ANDREI KIRILENKO · 2001–11 · PER GAME| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | UTA | 82 | 26.2 | 10.7 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | .450 | .250 | .768 |
| 2002–03 | UTA | 80 | 27.7 | 12.0 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | .491 | .325 | .800 |
| 2003–04 | UTA | 78 | 37.1 | 16.5 | 8.1 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 2.8 | .443 | .338 | .790 |
| 2004–05 | UTA | 41 | 32.9 | 15.6 | 6.2 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 3.3 | .493 | .299 | .784 |
| 2005–06 | UTA | 69 | 37.7 | 15.3 | 8.0 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 3.2 | .460 | .308 | .699 |
| 2006–07 | UTA | 70 | 29.3 | 8.3 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 2.1 | .471 | .213 | .728 |
| 2007–08 | UTA | 72 | 30.8 | 11.0 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 1.5 | .506 | .379 | .770 |
| 2008–09 | UTA | 67 | 27.3 | 11.6 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .449 | .274 | .785 |
| 2009–10 | UTA | 58 | 29.0 | 11.9 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 | .506 | .292 | .744 |
| 2010–11 | UTA | 64 | 31.2 | 11.7 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.2 | .467 | .367 | .770 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 10 SEASONS | 681 | 30.8 | 12.4 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.0 | .470 | .312 | .763 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Did you know
ANDREI KIRILENKO · 9 NOTES- Led the entire NBA in blocked shots in 2004–05 — as a small forward.
- Recorded multiple 5x5 games (five or more points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks), one of the rarest feats in basketball.
- Has a giant World of Warcraft dragon tattooed across his back — he was a devoted player of the game.
- The nickname AK-47 wrote itself: his initials, his jersey number, and a birthplace — Izhevsk — where the Kalashnikov is actually manufactured.
- Married to Russian pop star Masha Lopatova — their household ran on two kinds of celebrity.
- In January 2011 he and his wife were quietly sworn in as American citizens in Salt Lake City, telling almost nobody, not even Jerry Sloan.
- He blocked a career-high ten shots against Sacramento in March 2006, part of a triple-double of points, rebounds and blocks.
- He carried Russia's flag at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won bronze with the team in London.
- He and his wife adopted a baby daughter, Alexandra, from a Russian orphanage.
All photographs
1 PHOTO