By Aris Barkas
His 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.53 steals per game proved to be enough for Andrei Kirilenko to win the Euroleague’s Best Defender Trophy. The Euroleague leader in performance index rating (24.1) has stats that instill… terror to every opponent. He is the only player to rank among the 10 best in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks.
The leader of CSKA Moscow was voted by the Euroleague head coaches and finished first against six time Best Defender winner Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos, David Moss of Siena, Victor Sada of Barcelona and Richard Hendrix of Maccabi Tel Aviv. This seems to be just the start of the duel between AK-47 and Diamantidis in the quest for the European crown. The Russian forward is also the heavy favorite to win the Euroleague season MVP award, something that will be sealed if CSKA beats Diamantidis’ Panathinaikos in Istanbul’s semi final.
Kirilenko is the first Euroleague Best Defender that also was named to the NBA all defensive team, something that the 31 years old player have achieved three times as a member of the Utah Jazz.