Andrei Kirilenko retires from professional basketball

Andrei Kirilenko played 10 of his 12 NBA season with the Utah Jazz.

After 18 years of professional basketball, of which he played 12 seasons in the NBA, Andrei Kirilenko has called it quits. A former NBA All-Star, Kirilenko told Sportsexpress, which was later translated by Sportando that he made a final decision to retire. Immediately on retiring, Kirilenko will likely run for the Presidency of the Russian Basketball Federation.

“I decided to end my career. This is my final decision” Kirilenko told Sportexpress. “Now I would love to change something in Russian basketball”.

The Russian was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers having never suited up for the team after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets. He also spent a year with the Minnesota Timberwolves however the most successful duration of his career was with the Utah Jazz from 2001 to 2011. During the NBA lockout of 2011, Kirilenko played for the CSKA Moscow and within that short duration earned many honors such as: Euroleague MVP 2012, Euroscar Player of the Year 2012, All-Europeans Player of the Year 2012 and he was a member of the All-Euroleague First Team 2012.

He made it to the 2004 NBA All-Star team and was a member of the All-NBA Defensive Teams from 2004-2006. He had outstanding athleticism for his height of 6 foot 9 inches and just like many international talents, he was very versatile defensively. However during his golden days in Utah, his versatility showed on the offensive end as well, as the man has recorded 5x5 (5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks) three times in his career.

In his 12 seasons in the league AK-47, a nickname that arised courtesy of his initials and his jersey number, averaged 11.9 points and 5.5 rebounds on 48% shooting from the field. Here’s a compilation of Kirilenko’s highlights during his best years in the league with the Jazz: