AK talked about how the NBA has changed since his time in the league.
Andrei Kirilenko entered the NBA in 2001 and quickly learned that, unlike the European game, the NBA was a different beast altogether. With talented and agile big men like Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett and spectacular wingmen such as Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, the competition was fierce and physical.
But fast forward to 2024, and Kirilenko is talking about how much the game has changed since his time in the league. In an interview on the "Knuckleheads Podcast" with Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson, Kirilenko reflected on the evolution of basketball and couldn't help but mention a certain sharpshooter.
Steph broke the game
During Kirilenko's heyday, the game was played traditionally. While there were still plenty of jaw-dropping highlight-reel plays, the game was closer to the basket, and the three-pointer was a weapon sparingly used by teams other than the Phoenix Suns. Fast-forward to today, and "AK-47" commented how much the game has drastically changed, thanks to the incredible shooting of Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry.
"Steph Curry came along, and he broke the game. He just broke the game," AK told Q-Rich and D-Miles. "It became like a video game—he's crossing half-court and shooting threes."
Kirilenko added that if anyone tried that in Europe, they'd quickly earn a seat on the bench.
"They'd be like, 'No, no, no, you don't do this, kid. You have to use your clock.' But Steph started making those shots, and everybody thought, 'Oh my God, this is the way.' It was like in Star Wars or 'The Mandalorian—'This is the way,'" AK said with a huge smile.
Curry's otherworldly shooting has undoubtedly changed the game's dynamics. Before, coaches frowned whenever centers or power forwards took perimeter shots. Now, it's the exact opposite; big men who don't have a reliable outside shot are at a disadvantage.
"Now, everybody's doing it. Even the big guys are coming to the three-point line and shooting threes. The game has evolved so much that even tall players are taking those shots," Kirilenko added.
The big man era
AK remembered the NBA's landscape when he arrived in the United States for his rookie season. Though he was draftedin 1999, it took him two years before joining a Jazz squad with players from the team that made back-to-back Finals appearances in the late '90s: John Stockton, Greg Ostertag, and Karl Malone. And when he finally made it on the floor, he saw firsthand how important having a dominant big man was.
"When I came in, it was the game of the big man. You had a generation of Patrick Ewing, Hakeem, Shaq, David Robinson, Yao—it was a force. The whole game was built around bringing the ball down to the post, letting the big man create situations, and then either passing off or doing something with the ball," Kirilenko stated.
Despite being young—he entered the NBA at age 20—it didn't take long for Kirilenko to learn and understand the NBA game's nuances. He studied film, took note of players' tendencies, and became a defensive dynamo capable of slowing or shutting down the league's top scorers.
