In 1999, the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association selected Kirilenko with the twenty-fourth overall pick of the NBA draft.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Kirilenko returned to Russia to play for CSKA Moscow, leading the team to the 2012 EuroLeague Final.

[citation needed] In 1997, Kirilenko became the youngest player ever to compete in the Russian Super League, spending two seasons with Spartak Saint Petersburg.

[2] He was also selected to participate in the Russian All-Star game, helping the West beat the East 138–107 and winning the slam dunk contest.

On June 30, 1999, at age 18 years, 132 days, Kirilenko was the youngest foreign player at the time to be drafted in the National Basketball Association, when the Utah Jazz selected him with the 24th pick.

Despite being the odds-on favorite to win the slam dunk contest, he finished second to Harold Deane of Lokomotiv Mineralnye Vody.

In August 2001, Kirilenko signed a contract with Yugoslav team Partizan ICN which included an NBA-out clause option.

[5] On March 15, 2002, when starting in place of injured teammate Karl Malone, Kirilenko scored a then-career-high 27 points during a 100–97 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Kirilenko became the leader of the Jazz in 2003 after John Stockton retired and Karl Malone left Utah to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kirilenko and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only 2 NBA players who have finished a game with at least 6 steals, 6 blocks, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists since 1985–86.

His frustration eventually culminated in a widely publicized breakdown near the end of the Jazz's first-round playoffs series against the Houston Rockets.

[7] Although the lockout was resolved in December, Kirilenko remained with CSKA Moscow for the rest of the season rather than pursuing an immediate return to the NBA.

[14] On June 29, 2013, Kirilenko opted out of the final year of his contract with the Timberwolves (worth $10 million) to become a free agent.

[19] The 76ers suspended Kirilenko without pay on January 9, 2015, for failing to report after the trade,[20] and on February 21, he was waived by the 76ers before playing in a game for them.

[21] On February 24, 2015, Kirilenko signed with CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League for the rest of the 2014–15 season, returning to the club for a third stint.

[24] However, in the semi-final game, despite being dubbed by media as an absolute favorite to advance, Kirilenko's team, CSKA, once again lost to Olympiacos.

Kirilenko's first major international tournament with the senior Russian national basketball team was at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where Russia finished the games in 8th place.

In the first game of the 2008 Olympics tournament against Iran, Kirilenko scored 15 points, pulled down 5 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots.

[33] On January 3, 2006, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kirilenko posted a stat line of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals, and 7 blocks.

In 1987, Olajuwon had 38 points, 17 rebounds, 12 blocks, 7 steals, and 6 assists for the Houston Rockets, in a double-overtime win over the Seattle SuperSonics, the only other time a player has earned a 5×6.

[35][36] In June 2015, FiveThirtyEight reviewed Kirilenko's statistics, finding that his efficiency in scoring, steals, blocks, assists, offensive rebounds, and all-around versatility would justify consideration for the Basketball Hall of Fame.

[38] Kirilenko is married to Russian pop singer Masha "Marina" Lopatova, whose stage name is MaLo.

ESPN The Magazine reported in 2006 that Masha allows Andrei to have sex with another woman once per year and quoted her: "Male athletes in this country are extremely attractive.