The discussion of Russian basketball players begins and ends with Arvydas Sabonis, a player who would have been Shaq-esque had he come over to the US in his prime. But wait! Sabonis is actually Lithuanian, and only played for the Soviet Union because, at that time, Lithuania was part of the USSR! So really, the discussion of REAL Russian basketball players begins and ends with Andrei Kirilenko. A true Swiss-Army Knife of a player, Kirilenko could do everything on the court, plus he had a really awesome back tattoo. How could anybody possibly live up to that amount of swag?
Soon we will all forget about Kirilenko. His time is up. He’s over. The next Russian on the scene is the Russkie Renegade himself, Timofey Mozgov. Dunks, hook shots, jumpers…the only question is, what can’t this guy do? Okay, he can’t jump all that high, and he’s not much of a passer, but I can see this guy being a starter soon. He plays within his means and always seems to be in the right place.
And as an added bonus, he can reliably be counted on to have the best vodka stashed in his locker. Russians always play better when inebriated. If you ever see Mozgov sipping Gatorade on the bench…it’s not Gatorade.