December 11, 2007
Before the summer began, everyone was pretty sure that Andrei Kirilenko would either be traded, or would stay in Utah and play horribly to be traded. This was after the Russian forward was quoted saying “I don’t want to play in Utah.” After leading Russia in the European championships, Kirilenko said that he is ready to trade in his hefty contract to be able to play in Russia.
But after the summer, Kirilenko went back to Utah and had a meeting with head coach Jerry Sloan and Kevin O’Connor. AK-47 started training with the team again. During their opening game,all Utah fans’ eyes were on Kirilenko. During this first game, they knew that the old AK-47 is back! Andrei Kirilenko scored only 9 points. But he had 9 rebounds, and8 assists. His numbers are almost all higher than last year’s stats. But the biggest difference is his body language. This year, Kirilenko seems happy with his role. Last year, he often complained about his minutes with the Jazz, now, he seems contented with whatever role Jerry Sloan gives him.
Andrei Kirilenko is not the highest scorer, or the biggest superstar in Utah, but his attitude change may be the biggest factor for their winning the title this year.
Tags: ak-47, andrei kirilenko, utah jazz
