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SALT LAKE CITY -- Only three players in the NBA weigh more than 300 pounds, and the Utah Jazz has one of them: Kyrylo Fesenko. Even off the court, the relatively new NBA star gets noticed.
Height: 7-1
Weight: 300 lbs.
Years Pro: 2
From: Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
Career averages: 2.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 8 min.
Playoff averages: 3.4 ppg, 2.9 rbg, 17.4 min.
"It doesn't matter where I'm going, everyone looks at me, tries to take a picture, is like, ‘Hey, look at him!'" Fesenko says.
He says didn't like being so big when he was younger, but that's changed.
"My family and friends told me, ‘You're not worse than anybody. In some ways you are better, so don't be ashamed of it,'" Fesenko says.
Fes told us all this over lunch with his girlfriend. They were eating his favorite food: sushi.
"It's low on calorie and very healthy," he says.
Related:
Jazz and Lakers both say Kirilenko makes a difference
The biggest mystery surrounding "AK-47" is when he'll return to the court. That very well could be Saturday for Game 3 if his third return from a strain on his left calf since mid-March stays on track.The 23-year-old was pushed into the spotlight when starter Mehmet Okur blew his Achilles; Fes admits he wasn't ready.
"It's hard, mentally, a lot of pressure. I think I wasn't ready for the pressure," he says.
But says he's gaining confidence; and when he's not defending the paint, he's trying to get better by watching what he eats.
"It's really important to keep track of your weight. Right now I am really proud of myself. I'm down a lot," Fesenko says. "It helps me with playing: run faster, longer, jump higher."
An average male should eat about 2,500 calories a day; an average women, about 2,000. But someone like Fes it's more like 6,000 a day.
Fes says he enjoys being one of the big guys, and it makes him more like his childhood hero: Shaquille O'Neal.
"He is still my hero," Fesenko says.
By the way, Shaq and Yao Ming are the two other NBA players listed at 300 pounds.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
