Andrey Kirilenko is a Russian basketball player who has managed to achieve real success in the NBA. For about ten years he played for the Utah Jazz Club. At the moment Kirilenko is the president of the RFB (Russian Basketball Federation).
Life before joining the NBA
Andrey Gennadievich Kirilenko was born on February 18, 1981 in Udmurtia, but spent his entire childhood in St. Petersburg. It is worth noting that his family was very athletic: his mother is a professional basketball player, his father is a coach of the women's football team.
Andrey began to attend basketball classes already in the first grade. And when he turned 15, he made his debut in St. Petersburg "Spartak" (and in fact became the youngest player in the Russian championship in recent history). In the first season, the Spartak coach let him out on the floor only from time to time to gain experience. However, already in the second season, Andrei was able to gain a foothold at the base.
At the age of 17, he already earned an average of 10 points per match for his club, which attracted the attention of many fans and basketball specialists.
In 1997, Andrey was recognized as the most valuable player in the European Junior Championship. In this championship, Russia with Kirilenko in the squad confidently won silver.
In the summer of 1998, Kirilenko moved to the capital and began playing for the country's main basketball club, CSKA. And very soon Andrey became one of its key players. Over the three seasons at CSKA, he has consistently improved his stats. In the 1998/1999 season, he earned 12.4 points on average per match, and in 2000/2001 this figure was already 14.5 points. In addition, in the 2000/2001 season, Kirilenko, together with CSKA, managed to reach the semifinals of the Superleague, a prestigious European club tournament held under the auspices of FIBA. Unfortunately, in the semifinal stage, the army team was defeated by the Maccabi club from Israel.
Basketball career from 2001 to the present day
In 2001, Kirilenko went abroad to the United States. He was given the chance to play in the NBA - he was drafted by the Utah Jazz from Salt Lake City. And in his first season in the NBA, he was honored as one of the top five league debutants. Andrey proved himself to be a disciplined player who knows how to work in a team and clearly follows coaching instructions.
In the summer of 2003, the Utah club lost two of its main stars at the same time - Karl Malone, hoping to become the NBA champion at the end of his career, moved to the Lakers, and John Stockton even announced his retirement from the sport. As a result, Kirilenko became, in fact, the team's main striker. Now he had to take the initiative in attacking himself, and he completely coped with the responsibilities that were entrusted to him. That season, he became the best player in the Utah Jazz, not only in scoring (16, 2 points on average per meeting), but also in rebounds (8, 1) and block shots (2, 8).
Andrei played for the Salt Lake City team until 2011. But during this period he was noted as the leader of the Russian basketball team. Moreover, in July 2008 Kirilenko carried the white-blue-red flag of the Russian Federation at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. However, in general, the Russian basketball team performed unsuccessfully at the Beijing tournament - the guys did not even make it to the playoff stage.
After leaving Utah Jazz, Andrei played for some time in two other NBA clubs - Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets. And in February 2015 he returned to CSKA again. However, after a couple of months (at the end of the season), the famous athlete announced that he was completing his playing career. In the same 2015, Kirilenko was elected to the post of head of the RFB.
Personal life
Andrei Kirilenko's acquaintance with his future wife Maria Lopatova (by the way, she is eight years older than the athlete) took place at the 1999 “Basketball of the Future” event. Before meeting Kirilenko, Maria was a pop singer - she performed under the stage name Malo. In 2001, the young people were officially married.
The couple currently have four children - three boys (Fedor, Stepan, Andrey) and one girl (Alexandra). Moreover, Alexandra was adopted by the Kirilenko couple when she was about two months old.
Also, the Kirilenko spouses are known for their charitable activities. In 2003, in the United States, they founded the Kirilenko's Kids Foundation. Since 2006, this fund has been working in the Russian Federation. He provides assistance to children's medical institutions, orphanages, sports schools, etc.
