Andrei Kirilenko

Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko, born on 18 February 1981 in Izhevsk, is a Russian basketball executive and former professional player nicknamed AK-47. He began playing professionally at fifteen in the Russian Super League, played for CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001, and was chosen 24th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 1999 NBA draft, the first Russian taken in the first round. He spent ten seasons with the Jazz from 2001 to 2011, made the NBA All-Rookie First Team, three All-Defensive Teams and the 2004 All-Star Game, and led the league in blocked shots in 2004-05. During the 2011 lockout he returned to CSKA and led the team to the 2012 EuroLeague Final, winning the EuroLeague MVP award, before finishing his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Brooklyn Nets. For Russia he played at the 2000 Summer Olympics, won the 2007 EuroBasket as tournament MVP, and became president of the Russian Basketball Federation in 2015.