Before Kristaps Porzingis takes on Slovenia in the EuroBasket quarterfinals on Tuesday he tweeted out a photo of him speaking with a former Brooklyn Net. The New York Knicks star is seen talking to Andrei Kirilenko.
Porzingis describes the president of the Russian Basketball Federation as one of his “idols” both on and off the court.
Kirilenko, nicknamed AK-47, played 13 seasons in the NBA; 10 with the Utah Jazz before short stints in Minnesota (1) and Brooklyn (2). He was known as a defensive specialist.
Porzingis’ Latvian squad gave Russia their only loss of the tournament, 84-69, but that doesn’t seem to impact the friendship of these two international stars.