Andrei Kirilenko had Hall of Fame talent, even if few noticed
Tim Faklis
Andrei Kirilenko made defense a joy and excelled in so many key aspects of basketball. As he retires, we remember the best of "AK47."
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Andrei Kirilenko was 22 years old and bound for his first NBA All-Star Game, and he didn't take long to set even loftier goals for himself.

"There's one more goal: To be MVP of the league," Kirilenko told the Deseret News in 2003, adding that he wanted "a ring" as well.

MORE: When Kirilenko was a key for T-wolves | What the Jazz need this offseason

Kirilenko is retiring from professional basketball, according to a report Monday night. He never made another All-Star Game, never won a championship and never finished in the top 10 in NBA MVP voting.

But whether it was on the break, on the baseline or on defense, Kirilenko made his impact. All over the floor, at any pace, at either end, he was a force who could do nearly everything asked of a basketball player. Though his outside shot never came together, he was impossible to guard, in part because of how rarely he looked for his own shot.

Kirilenko's immense talent never showed in accolades or traditional statistics. He averaged 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game over his 13-year NBA career. He made only one All-Star Game and one All-Defensive first team (being named to the second team twice). His crowning achievements came during the 2011-12 NBA lockout, when he won Euroleague MVP as his CSKA Moscow team lost in the championship.

This isn't a Hall of Fame résumé, no, but Kirilenko was one of the special players of his era.

Kirilenko was drafted by the Jazz with the No. 24 pick in 1999, as an 18-year-old. He stayed in Russia for two years, joining Utah at the tail end of the Karl Malone-John Stockton era.

"I've gotten on his butt as hard as I have anybody," longtime Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said in 2004, "and he's responded in the right way, in my opinion. He's a terrific guy to coach. You don't find a better one about coaching, about playing."

Kirilenko didn't set NBA records like Malone and Stockton. But his unselfish play made him a clear-cut fan favorite for his 10 years with the Jazz and even his one with the Timberwolves.

In an era featuring Ron Artest and Bruce Bowen, Kirilenko was the most versatile defensive small forward of his time. Whether it was stopping his man from moving with his long arms, coming in to block a hook from the weak side or stopping a gimme on the break, Kirilenko made it incredibly easy for basketball diehards to have fun watching defense.

He may be the greatest shot-blocking wing player of all time. Kirilenko blocked about 5 percent of available shots while he was on the court, the 12th-best rate in NBA history. The 11 players above him were all centers. He led the NBA with 3.3 blocks a game in 2004-05 and routinely averaged more than two per game while also averaging nearly two steals a game.

The term "versatility" can be overused, but Kirilenko was one of the few that could defend on the perimeter and in the post in the same game and lock the opposition down the entire time. This came in handy against top offensive small forwards such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce.

As time went on, Kirilenko's athleticism withered, but his defense stayed strong. But while he ended his career on a sour, below-the-rim note, such a finish make it too easy to forget the hops he had in his prime. His prime athleticism allowed him to throw down more dunks — he topped 100 in each of his first three seasons — than many remember.

His long arms helped with that, too.

Yes, he passed the ball well and could hold his own in the scoring column, but that's not where he made his name offensively. He had one of the best pump fakes in the NBA and could lure in defenders and make his drive-and-kicks that much more effective.

He utilized the baseline better than anyone. Whether he had the ball in his hands or had All-Star point guard Deron Williams feeding him the ball, he was always in the right position on the edge of the floor.

It's easy to throw a bunch of highlights of a good player in his prime and make him look better than he was.

What made Kirilenko a fan favorite can't be described in highlight reels. He grabbed the attention of the opposition — and Salt Lake City — in an era when the Jazz were written off as ready for a long rebuild. They made the playoffs three years after Stockton and Malone left, reaching the Western Conference finals and reaching the postseason the following three years as well.

Obviously, Kirilenko had help along the way. Williams was one of the best players in the NBA, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur were All-Stars, though by most metrics Kirilenko was the team's second-best player. The role players, from veteran Matt Harpring to young Paul Millsap, understood what was needed. And they had a Hall of Fame coach in Sloan, ready to show them what they needed to fix.

Is Kirilenko a future Hall of Famer? No. He never won that title, never won that MVP and only made that one All-Star Game. He never averaged over 17 points per game and struggled to take over games offensively the way most all-time greats could.

But the Hall of Fame-caliber skills were there. He was the most versatile defensive stopper at his position, a deceptively freakish athlete and a great passer and shot-blocker, and he had a pump-fake worth remembering. He moved to the right spot on the floor elusively, working the baseline better than anyone, his post-passing ability making him impossible to guard near the rim.

There won't be a plaque in Springfield, Mass., for "AK47." But those who recall his unique abilities won't need one to remember his talent.