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AK-13.
It doesn't have much of a ring to it. But it almost turned out that way for Andrei Kirilenko, who today is known throughout the NBA as AK-47 simply because of the jersey number he picked as a rookie with the Utah Jazz.
Kirilenko came to Utah in 2001 and, initially, he was going to wear No. 13.
"I was happy," Kirilenko said. "I like it, you know? I think, 'Thirteen is good number.' "
When the Jazz signed free-agent John Amaechi, however, Kirilenko's plans changed. Amaechi asked for No. 13 and, since he had more seniority in the league, the Jazz gave it to him.
"Because of the veteran's rule, I had to change," Kirilenko said. "But I didn't know which number to pick out."
After speaking to former teammate Quincy Lewis about his dilemma, Kirilenko came up with an idea - his now-famous No. 47.
"Quincy told me, 'There's a Russian rifle called AK-47," Kirilenko said. "Because of my initials, I say, 'That's a good one. OK, I will take No. 47.' And it has became a great nickname for me. The funny thing is, later on, I find out the guy who invented this gun is from the city where I was born."
Has Kirilenko, whose hometown is Izhevsk, Siberia, ever met the Father of the AK-47?
"No," he laughed, "because he is now, like, a very big general in the army."
When it comes to NBA players picking their jersey numbers, Kirilenko's tale is not unusual. It is a process that can mix a player's past and his superstitions, as well as circumstances beyond his control.
As a kid, Ronnie Price always wore No. 7 because he idolized Pete Maravich. But when he signed with the Jazz, Price switched to No. 17 because the franchise has retired Maravich's number.
"I just put a No. 1 in front of the seven," Price explained.
Jazz veteran Jarron Collins grew up in Los Angeles when future NBA star Reggie Miller played at UCLA. Collins became a big Miller fan and, to emulate him, he started wearing No. 31.
"I just stuck with it," Collins said.
Carlos Boozer "wore No. 4 my whole life" - at least until he was drafted by the Cavaliers. In Cleveland, veteran Chris Mihm already owned No. 4.
"I offered to give him some money for it - an 'undisclosed' amount," Boozer laughed. "But he said no because he had worn No. 4 his whole life, too. So I took No. 1."
When Boozer signed with the Jazz, he was forced to change numbers again because the franchise had already retired No. 1 in honor of former coach, general manager and president Frank Layden.
"I wanted No. 4 again, but they said they were going to retire it for [Adrian] Dantley, which they eventually did," Boozer said. "No. 1 was already up there, too. So I picked No. 5."
Why?
"Because my mom and dad, they had five kids," Boozer said.
Other stories are less complex.
Deron Williams did some math to come up with No. 8. "I wanted 'five.' So I took No. 5 and added 'three' to it, because that's where I was picked in the draft," he said.
Paul Millsap wears No. 24 because his older brother wore it before him in high school. Morris Almond wears No. 22 because he was born on Feb. 2, 1985: "The second day of the second month. Pretty simple."
Matt Harpring wore No. 10 in high school and wanted to keep it when he enrolled at Georgia Tech. But veteran Drew Barry already wore No. 10 and wouldn't give it up, so Harpring switched to No. 15. After averaging 12 points and six rebounds as a freshman, Harpring stayed with it.
Ronnie Brewer wore No. 10 through high school and college because it was his father's number. When he came to Utah, however, veteran Gordan Giricek already owned No. 10, so "I had to find a new one."
Brewer considered No. 11, but fellow rookie Dee Brown wanted it. As a first-round draft pick, Brewer probably could have pulled rank on second-rounder Brown. But he decided against it.
"Dee had never worn anything but 11," Brewer said. "I couldn't do that do him."
Brewer eventually decided on No. 9. Because of Giricek's midseason trade to Philadelphia, however, Brewer probably can go back to No. 10 next season.
Will he?
"I don't know," Brewer said. "I'm having a pretty good year. I'll have to think about that one."
Memo Okur wears unlucky No. 13.
"When I was 14 and starting to play basketball, everybody told me, 'Don't take No. 13 jersey because it will bring bad luck,'" Okur said. "But I said, 'I don't believe in that stuff. To me, No. 13 will be a lucky number and one day I will show you.' . . .
"So, I make it to the NBA, I play in the All-Star Game and win a championship when I play in Detroit. So I think I show everybody that No. 13 is not unlucky No. 13. I will never change. I will keep it until I retire."
That's what Kyle Korver thought, too.
"I'd been 25 my whole life," he said. "Then I went to Philadelphia. I had it in the summer league my first year, but we traded for Marc Jackson, who wanted 25 and was older than me. So he took it. . . . I didn't get anything from him. Most of the time, guys will buy it from you. But no, I got nothing."
Korver ended up with No. 26, which he decided to keep in Utah.
"It was, like, my eighth choice," he said. "I basically picked it by default because all the other numbers I wanted were taken or retired. . . . There are no numbers left in Philly, I don't think."
Until Michael Jordan played in Chicago, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan wore the most famous jersey in Bulls' history - No. 4. He got it after being plucked off the roster of the then-Baltimore Bullets in the 1966 expansion draft.
Did Sloan ask for No. 4 when he arrived in Chicago? Did he have to bargain with a veteran for it?
Not exactly.
"They laid them all out on a bench in the locker room at North Central College," Sloan recalled, "and it was the last one left. Nobody else wanted it, I guess. But I was happy just to have a number."
Jersey numbers
Other players in franchise history who have had the numbers now being worn by Jazz players. Note: some players wore more than one number during their careers in Utah.
No. 3 -- Jason Hart
Bryon Russell (1996-02); Kirk Snyder (2004-05); Milt Palacio (2004-05)
No. 5 -- Carlos Boozer
Robert Smith (1979-80); Jeff Judkins (1980-81); Freeman Williams (1982-83); Billy Paultz (1984-85); Andy Toolson (1990-91,1995-96); Armen Gilliam (1999-00); Rusty LaRue (2001-02)
No. 8 -- Deron Williams
Walt Bellamy (1974-75)
No. 9 -- Ronnie Brewer
John Starks (2000-02)
No. 13 -- Memo Okur
John Amaechi (2001-02); Mark Jackson (2002-03); Keon Clark (2003-04)
No. 15 -- Matt Harpring
Bud Stallworth (1974-77); Marty Byrnes (1978-79); Andre Wakefield (1979-80); Eric Johnson (1989-90); Corey Crowder (1991-92); Jamie Watson (1994-97); Danny Manning (2000-01)
No. 17 -- Ronnie Price
None
No. 22 -- Morris Almond
Stu Lantz (1974-75); Nate Williams (1974-78); Bernard King (1979-80); Carl Nicks (1980-82); John Drew (1982-85); Carey Scurry (1985-88); Eric White (1988-89); Henry James (1992-93); Dave Jamerson (1993-94); Brooks Thompson (1996-97); John Crotty (2000-01); Curtis Borchardt (2002-05); Louis Amundson (2006-07))
No. 24 -- Paul Millsap
Spencer Haywood (1978-79); Ron Boone (1979-81); Danny Schayes (1981-83); Raymond Brown (1989-90); Jeff Malone (1990-94); Raul Lopez (2002-05)
No. 26 -- Kyle Korver
John Amaechi (2002-03)
No. 31 -- Jarron Collins
Mel Counts (1974-76); Paul Dawkins (1979-80); Sam Worthen (1981-82); Jerry Eaves (1982-84); Adam Keefe (1994-00)
No. 34 -- C.J. Miles
John Block (1974-75); Otto Moore (1974-77); Ira Terrell (1978-79); Bryon Russell (1993-96); Chris Morris (1996-98); Scott Padgett (1999-03)
No. 44 -- Kyrylo Fesenko
Pete Maravich (1974-75); Allan Bristow (1979-81); Rich Kelley (1982-85); Jose Ortiz (1988-90); Chris Munk (1990-91); Luther Wright (1993-94); Greg Foster (1995-99); Tony Massenburg (2002-03); Ben Handlogten (2003-05)
No. 47 -- Andrei Kirilenko
None