The Dream Life of Andrei Kirilenko

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http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8849964/The-Dream-Life-of-Andrei-Kirilenko-

The Dream Life of Andrei Kirilenko
by CHRIS MANNIX , Sports Illustrated


After two nightmarish years in which his numbers fell and his angst level
spiked, the Jazz forward found what he needed to jump-start his sagging
career: a seat on the bench

LOOK AT Andrei Kirilenko's life from afar and you're likely to come to one
conclusion: It's good to be Andrei Kirilenko. It's good to be a cornerstone
of the Utah Jazz, which at week's end was 9--5 and in first place in the
Northwest Division. It's good to be a max-contract guy, one who has already
pocketed $23 million in the first two years of a deal that will pay $63
million over the next four. It's good to be an icon in Russia, where he is so
beloved that he was chosen to carry the flag in the Opening Ceremonies of the
2008 Olympics. It's good to be married to a brainy Russian pop star, a
God-gave-with-both-hands-then-He-gave-again blonde bombshell who has granted
her husband permission to break the bonds of marriage once a season. (Not
that he has any intention of doing so, but still.) Life, as they say, is a
dream.

But it hasn't always been a sweet one. Really. There has been a seven-year
relationship with coach Jerry Sloan that can be charitably characterized as
rocky. There has been a made-for-TV meltdown after a playoff loss in 2007,
when Kirilenko wept openly for the cameras. There has been controversy after
he threatened to walk on his contract and return to his motherland. And there
have been two years of declining production. "At times, things have been
rough," says the 27-year-old Kirilenko.

But just when the spindly 6'9" Kirilenko seemed about to snap, he has been
rejuvenated by ... a demotion. A preseason ankle injury to sixth man Matt
Harpring left Sloan worried about the strength of his second unit, so he gave
C.J. Miles the starting small forward job and made Kirilenko a sub. "We
needed someone to give us energy off the bench," says Sloan. "Andrei has done
that. Do I think he'd like to be a starter? Yes. But he's done a great job
for us in this role." Now the NBA's highest-paid reserve, Kirilenko is
playing some of the best ball of his career, averaging 13.8 points, 6.3
rebounds and 1.7 steals through Sunday?up from 9.7, 4.7 and 1.1 as a starter
over the last two years.

Pigeonholed as a small forward in a first unit that is strong at every
position, Kirilenko has filled in everywhere but center with the second team,
creating mismatches all over the floor. His ball handling allows him to
ignite fast breaks, and his size makes him effective around the basket. Last
week he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 boards in victories over the Suns and
the Bucks, and he had 10 assists in a defeat of the Grizzlies. "Coming off
the bench, I get to see the rhythm of the game," he says. "I've always been
more of an analyst. I like to watch where players like to go on the floor.
And when I get in, the other team is usually tired and I have fresh legs."

While his offensive game needed a boost, Kirilenko's D never left him. With
his 7'4" wingspan and superior reflexes, he can block a shot even when his
hands are dangling by his side when the ball is released. Late in the fourth
quarter against Phoenix, Kirilenko rejected two shots from Shaquille O'Neal
on the same possession. Both times the ball had already left Shaq's
fingertips when Kirilenko made his move. (With 3.3 per game in 2004--05,
Kirilenko became the shortest league leader in blocks since it became an
official stat in 1972.) And he's not just a shot swatter. With Utah clinging
to a late four-point lead against Milwaukee, Kirilenko poked the ball away
from Bucks point guard Ramon Sessions and took it the length of the court for
a game-sealing dunk. What was special about that steal?his fifth of the
night?was that it came during a dribble handoff. As Sessions gave the ball to
Richard Jefferson, Kirilenko slid his arm between the two and knocked the
ball free. "Did he just do that?" marveled a scout watching the game. "He's
Rope Man. He can get those arms in the smallest of spaces."

By settling into his new role, Kirilenko has eased any potential tension with
Sloan. That's not to say there isn't any tension. After Kirilenko
uncharacteristically blew a defensive assignment against the Suns, he and
Sloan could be seen shouting at each other from opposite ends of the court.
And after watching Kirilenko launch an ill-advised jumper early in the shot
clock later in the game, a visibly agitated Sloan spun and stormed back to
his seat on the bench. "Coach doesn't like those kinds of mistakes," says
Kirilenko, a toothy grin creeping onto his face. "I don't blame him for being
mad about that."

Says Sloan, "Andrei and I are fine. I don't need my players to like me. I
need them to play for me."

KIRILENKO SAYS he prefers to bottle up his feelings until they "explode out
of him," so he is quick to downplay any rift with the 66-year-old Sloan, who
recently became the first coach to reach 1,000 wins with the same team.
"Jerry is a legend," says Kirilenko. "He is the face of the Jazz
organization. He has his style, and it works. It has worked for me too."

Kirilenko's wife, Masha, though, has her own opinions. A singer (the video
for her 2002 hit single, Saharniy?which translates loosely to sugary?quickly
rocketed to No. 1 on MTV Russia) with brains (she holds an undergrad degree
in foreign languages and a masters in art) and ambition (in addition to
running her husband's charitable foundation, she recently opened her own
clothing boutique), Masha rarely misses a home game. When Andrei is on the
bench, she'll mouth?in Russian?anything from I love you to postgame dinner
plans. When Andrei is in the game, he'll often turn to her and shout in
Russian after a significant play. They're not quite ready to replace Doug and
Jackie Christie as the NBA's first couple of idiosyncratic communications,
but Masha is, safe to say, a full partner in Andrei's career.

Relaxing at the Kirilenkos' spacious, modern Salt Lake City home, Masha's
eyes grow wide when told that Sloan didn't care whether his players liked him.

"Does he care whether their wives like him?" she says.

Andrei turns and mutters something to her in Russian.

"He doesn't like me to talk about that," says Masha.

"It's not that I don't like Jerry," says Andrei. "He's a good person. He's
just from an older generation that treats players like kids. Let's say your
boss comes to you and says, 'Hey, son. Come here'. And you look at him like,
What did you call me? It doesn't hurt your feelings, but it doesn't feel
comfortable."

Says Masha, "The guy remembers a time when he was driving a '65 Chevy. To
him, Andrei will always be a kid."

A first-round pick in 1999, Kirilenko arrived in the U.S. two years later,
fresh from CSKA Moscow. Despite his seemingly fragile 220-pound frame he
quickly became one of Utah's most consistent and versatile players. The
anti--Karl Malone?the Mailman made his living running the pick-and-roll and
banging in the low post?Kirilenko is rarely used as a screener and can score
from almost anywhere on the floor. He played in all 82 games in his first
season, was an All-Star by his third and made the All-Defensive first team in
his fifth.

The Kirilenkos' issues with Sloan first developed during 2006--07, when point
guard Deron Williams and power forward Carlos Boozer emerged as Utah's
primary options. That squeezed out Kirilenko, who saw his scoring average
decline from 15.6 in '05--06 to 8.3 and his playing time drop by 10 minutes
per game. In closed-door meetings Sloan advised him to keep playing defense
while Kirilenko asked for a bigger role in the offense. "I was really
frustrated," says Kirilenko. "I didn't know how Coach wanted me to play. I
didn't know what to do on the floor. I played hard defensively, but I was
lost on the other end."

Rock bottom came during the first round of the playoffs. After sitting on the
bench for the final 17 minutes of Utah's Game 1 loss to the Rockets,
Kirilenko began sobbing as he talked to the press at practice the next day.
"I have no confidence," he told reporters. "None." A horrified Masha could
barely watch. The following morning she flew to Houston and found her husband
alone in his hotel room, inconsolable. "The thing that you have to realize
about Andrei," says Masha, "is that he is impossible to get upset. I can't do
it. So when I saw him like that, I knew something was seriously wrong."

After the season the couple returned to Moscow, where Kirilenko led the
Russian national team to the European championship and was named MVP of the
tournament. "I found out there was nothing wrong with my game," he says. "I
was still the same player." Emboldened by his success, Kirilenko began to
lash out. He complained to the Russian press that the Jazz treated him like a
rookie instead of a franchise player. He praised Russia's coach, David Blatt,
in his blog for helping him "realize a dream" while attacking Sloan for
constantly reminding players of their exorbitant contracts and harping on
their mistakes. To top it all off, he demanded a trade and threatened to walk
away from his contract and stay in Russia if it didn't happen. "We didn't
want to go through that again," says Masha. "That was the worst year of my
life. I cried every day."

The trade never materialized. Kirilenko reported to camp (he blamed the media
for blowing his remarks out of proportion), and after a clear-the-air meeting
with Sloan and general manager Kevin O'Conner, he stepped right back into the
starting lineup. "There was a frustration on our part and a frustration on
Andrei's part," says O'Conner. "He told us what he had to do to get over the
hump, and we tried to give him what he needed." Kirilenko's numbers ticked up
last year, and, more important, he and Sloan appeared to bury the hatchet?or
at least learned to coexist. "If you have two competitive guys, there are
going to be disagreements," says Bucks coach Scott Skiles. "Too much is made
of that. Nobody wants a team full of patsies who won't voice their opinions."

SITTING AT his kitchen counter with his wife by his side, Kirilenko looks to
be at peace. His family is happy?when asked his favorite place, the
Kirilenkos' seven-year-old son, Fedor, says, "America"?in part because he and
Masha have decided to leave the Basketball talk in the gym. "We used to talk
about it all the time," says Andrei. "It was 24/7. Now we try to focus on
other stuff." He still thinks about playing in Russia, but not anytime soon.
"When my contract is up, I'd like to go back," he says. "I want my country to
see me play before I am too old."

For now, life is a sweet dream. Really. Sure, he's a little more jaded?"It's
hard to totally forget all the stuff that happened," he says?but he's usually
wearing the grin that Masha fell in love with nine years ago. "I've seen
Andrei happier two times," says Masha. "When he made the All-Star team and on
our honeymoon. He just wants to help his team. That's the only thing that
matters to him."

Rock bottom came after he rode the bench for the final 17 minutes of a 2007
playoff loss. "I have no confidence," a sobbing Kirilenko said. "None."


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