It has been an interesting year for Andrei Kirilenko, last time we checked up with Kirilenko he was MIA with the Brooklyn Nets due to family issues, got traded to the Philadelphia 76ers but never suited up. He was nowhere to be seen. And then in June he retired from playing basketball altogether.
Moving on to now and as it turns out. He’s the president of the Russian Basketball Federation. Well that was sudden.
The ex-Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets small forward, who spent 13 seasons in the NBA, was elected unopposed at a conference Tuesday in Moscow – hours after his only rival, Russian national team general manager Dmitry Domani, withdrew from the contest.
Kirilenko takes over an organization in crisis after it was suspended in July by international governing body FIBA following years of infighting and legal battles, which led to the result of the last federation elections being overturned.
”It’s really important to spend time on preparation, so that there is the most positive possible atmosphere in the 10 days that are left until the European Championship,” Kirilenko said. ”We really don’t want our players to have any problems with their preparation.”
Russian Basketball was good a few years ago. You may remember that they got the Bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics, it’s only recently that they’ve been in turmoil. Hopefully the presence of Kirilenko will turn the tide. As he said, the European Championships are in less than 2 weeks. Now I’m not sure whether he can make an impression that quick. But long-term, who knows?
