The official Andrei Kirilenko tribute thread

[ArkadiosV2]

.....

[DanMajerle]

Anyone relized that Dolph Lundgren did not appear in a movie since "Kirilenko" started playing basketball. Hmmmmm

[rikhardur]

I already had the chance to write this, but the first time I saw Kirilenko play, he was 17 I think, it was in the now extinct Real Madrid's Christmas tournament. CSKA was playing Real Madrid and If I'm not mistaken CSKA won. The man the game? Yes, it was him. He dunked, shot blocked, scored, rebounded seeming a mature professional player on court. I remember even the Spanish commentators praised him in delight. The myth was establishing itself.

[uRAgan]

Thanks for this thread.

Kirilenko won with NEBL (North European Basketball League) 2000.


http://www.sports.ru/blog/kirilenko/
Internet Blog AK and his wife.

[mvblair]

AK-47 couldn't have played a better game in his 2008 play-off debut. 21 points (8-12) and so many blocks and steals and all that incredible defense. The guy was great. His help defense was the best.

Boozer also played a great game. Utah's guards and forwards just controlled the game.

About as ugly as they come [rolleyes]
Two hustlers
Amazing defence -- look at those arms
Lay-up

[mvblair]

Kirilenko is getting a lot of heat for a "flop" he supposedly committed in the last minute of the Utah/Houston game last night. Luis Scola (on offense) put his hand on AK's shoulder, and AK fell several steps out of bounds. A foul was called on Scola, resulting in the cancelling of a Houston three-point shot that would have tied the game. Replays showed that Scola's hand more or less "grazed" AK's shoulder. On ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show this morning, he was criticized and praised. One of the Mikes said that flopping should be a technical foul, the other said "was it a flop? Yeah, probably. But you can't blame Kirilenko for trying to sell product to the referees," meaning that everybody flops a little and if the ref calls a foul, it's the refs fault.

[Phantim3dx]

you got vids of this on youtube. i know ak is getting some flak for this. i saw it on espn's highlight game but the camera angle was horrible.

Kirilenko is getting a lot of heat for a "flop" he supposedly committed in the last minute of the Utah/Houston game last night. Luis Scola (on offense) put his hand on AK's shoulder, and AK fell several steps out of bounds. A foul was called on Scola, resulting in the cancelling of a Houston three-point shot that would have tied the game. Replays showed that Scola's hand more or less "grazed" AK's shoulder. On ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show this morning, he was criticized and praised. One of the Mikes said that flopping should be a technical foul, the other said "was it a flop? Yeah, probably. But you can't blame Kirilenko for trying to sell product to the referees," meaning that everybody flops a little and if the ref calls a foul, it's the refs fault.

[rikhardur]

I like Kirilenko very very much, but if the action mentioned is the one precisely at 1:16 in the lower left corner, then it's a flopping action no doubt :x

[mvblair]

I like Kirilenko very very much, but if the action mentioned is the one precisely at 1:16 in the lower left corner, then it's a flopping action no doubt :x

Yes, that's it. Thanks for the video. It's flopping, but the truth is that everybody flops. AK-47 was playing for the referee (who is directly behind him) and the referee should have known better. AK took advantage of it. And there are many worse flops every day.

[robbe]

Some players flop more, some less. I get the impression that "flopping" is often being confused with simply "taking the charge" though. Whatever, I think guys like Ginobili do flop sometimes, and they do so because they want to secure their team another possession. Just like hustling for the lose ball, getting a steal, or a rebound. That's what winners do. They test what the referees allow, and what not. I don't see what's wrong with that. It's the referees job to not fall for it. I don't think it is usually worth a technical foul though, as a player who flops but doesn't get the call is a dead player, as he is down on the floor, out of play for 3,4 seconds. That's much of a risk already. Technical foul maybe only in some extreme situations.

Kirilenko made a smart play, secured the Jazz win number 2. Everyone's crying now, but that play made them win the game.

[mvblair]

Yeah, I mean, you're right Robbe. Most "flops" are "exagerations" of an actual foul; players trying to sell the foul. ...but then there are the obvious flops, when a player isn't even touched. My favorite is the video of Baron Davis pretending to get sucker-punched by Memut Okur, and immediatly getting up when he realized it was a stupid flop...

Also, yes, a lot of people confuse taking a charge with flopping.

[Neozyrus]

Some players flop more, some less. I get the impression that "flopping" is often being confused with simply "taking the charge" though. Whatever, I think guys like Ginobili do flop sometimes, and they do so because they want to secure their team another possession. Just like hustling for the lose ball, getting a steal, or a rebound. That's what winners do. They test what the referees allow, and what not. I don't see what's wrong with that. It's the referees job to not fall for it. I don't think it is usually worth a technical foul though, as a player who flops but doesn't get the call is a dead player, as he is down on the floor, out of play for 3,4 seconds. That's much of a risk already. Technical foul maybe only in some extreme situations.

Kirilenko made a smart play, secured the Jazz win number 2. Everyone's crying now, but that play made them win the game.

I completely agree. These kinds of flops are just part of the games, and im sure u can remember a whole bunch of great players that often more or less flopped just as a part of the game to give their team some kind of advantage.
I dont think that this is wrong when the foul actually exists, its just a way of taking the ref's attention on that play. In any other case, its just ref's business to recognize it, but i agree in that a technical foul is an exagerated punishment. The loss of the possesion (if they have it) or a regular foul could be more fair imo, but as u said, im many occasions, to lose a player in a play is enough punishment.

[rikhardur]

Going back 4 years in time... (Kirilenko's best season so far)

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/m...5/ai_n11439922

[Jon_Koncak]

Whatever, I think guys like Ginobili do flop sometimes, and they do so because they want to secure their team another possession. Just like hustling for the lose ball, getting a steal, or a rebound. That's what winners do.

Flopping unlike the other examples you mention is a blatant way of cheating..Winning at all costs isn't all that matters,you got to show respect to the opponents,the refs,the fans ..throwing your butt to the ground after the slightest contact by no means can be considered as fair play..a basketball flopper is no worse than a football player who dives in order to gain a penalty or a foul,and just as the later gets a yellow card for that,the technical is a fair punshment for these cheaters.

By the way your aproval of flopping comes as no surprise to me considering which continent's players established and perfected this "art"

[rikhardur]

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!

[Jon_Koncak]

here's another "smart play" by Kirilenko from yesterday's match against Mavs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEx4JUDeyAQ

[robbe]

Every play that gives your team an additional possession is a good play.

This flop is beautifully executed. The way he anticipated Dirk's elbow motion within a split second and sold the contact even though there was no contact ... you need a high basketball IQ as well as the raw skills to do that.

[rikhardur]

Kirilenko really doesn't need to do this...

[rikhardur]

Kirilenko Back At CSKA? Maybe One Day

CSKA Moscow president Andrey Vatutin has offered his thoughts on the possibility that one day, the team's most famous export - Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko - will return to the club.

"It's a very beautiful story - to return to the club from which you once left," Vatutin said.

"But now, all this - it's no more than guessing."

Vatutin was speaking to a group of university students in Moscow and one of the questions posed to him was about EuroBasket 2007 MVP Kirilenko and whether he would come back to play for CSKA.

There was a lot of interest in the media back in 2007 after Kirilenko led Russia to the EuroBasket gold medal in Spain.

"At one time," Vatutin said, "we went out to Utah with a proposal for Kirilenko but were refused because Kirilenko had a multi-year contract and to resolve this question, it was impossible.

"Now everything will depend on Andrei - what he wants."

Vatutin, whose remarks were carried on Sports.ru, said: "There are many options (for Kirilenko): to finish his career, to sign a new contract with the NBA, to play in Europe, to return to CSKA ...

"So here it is not necessary to run ahead of the engine, but in general it would be great if Andrei did return to CSKA."

http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_syOuK...frontpage.html

[rikhardur]

Kirilenko Missed EuroBasket Due To Adoption Of Baby Girl

There is a very good reason why Andrei Kirilenko didn't play for Russia at the EuroBasket last month.

The EuroBasket 2007 MVP and his wife, Masha, needed to devote all of their attention to the long process of adopting a baby girl in Russia.

The couple already had two sons and now they have three children after completing the adoption of the infant they have named Alexandra with a whirlwind trip to Moscow.

"As I have said many times, I was forced to abandon the trip to Poland (for the EuroBasket) due to family circumstances," Kirilenko said.

"And now this story is finally over.

"Masha and I adopted a girl. Russian. She is only two months old.

"We just did not want to talk about it in advance, to avoid speculation."

The process of adopting a child began in February, Kirilenko said.

"We had to gather all the necessary documents, talk with psychologists and in the last month visited the child," Kirilenko said.

"In fact, to resolve all issues, it took virtually the entire summer. Problems arose even from the fact that I and Masha are registered in different cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg."

A court in Moscow, with both Kirilenko and his wife standing before the judge for 15 minutes, finally recognized the couple as the parents of Alexandra.

Kirilenko missed two pre-season games with the Jazz while he was away but flew back to join his team in Los Angeles on Saturday and on Sunday played against the Charlotte Bobcats, pouring in 18 points in a win for his team.

Russia, meanwhile, didn't finish in the top six this year at the EuroBasket which prevented them from qualifying for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

They are still hoping to play in the big event but will need a wild card to do so.

http://www.fibaeurope.com/coid_nd94C...frontpage.html