thank you for joining us six thirty here in moscow and i'm karen terrorists with a quick recap of your headlines north korea is betting a final farewell to its late leader and we are bringing you live pictures right now from pyongyang central square where hundreds of thousands have gathered to pay their last respects at the memorial service this is actually the second day of kim jong il's funeral twelve days ago of a heart attack earlier the first memorial procession was led by his youngest son who has now taken over the reins of power in the country. syria releases seven

hundred fifty five people detained during the uprising against president assad while the head of the arab league mission finds nothing heartening in the rest of city opponents damascus says armed insurgents have killed at least two thousand members of its forces since march. egypt's new leaders try to rebuild ties with russia at talks in moscow while back home the outstrip president's trial resumes after a three month break mubarak is accused of corruption abuse and killing demonstrators during the january uprising and may face the death penalty if convicted. and lead to make a point and says he's up for talks with the opposition but there's no one to deal with the prime minister's urging his rivals to get organized so they can hold constructive dialogue with the government. now r.t. talks to n.b.a. star under way about what it takes a russian guy to become a sports celebrity spotlight is up next.

how. is. always. they were always among the best in the world but the iron curtain fell. twenty years ago many russians started to go abroad to play in the best. states a bit later russian clubs started making big bets and they also started hiring the best athletes in the world. so came back so stayed abroad

what does it take to make a living to make a career in big sports we have a. person who made it both in russia and the united states. know in the n.b.a. as a k forty. hundred. is a great success story he first played in russia. but didn't stay there for long. years he was. becoming the youngest european player. during the twelve years he spent with jazz he was one of the team's best players with an annual salary of fifteen million dollars. he moved back to moscow to play for. the state. teams want to recruit him and keep making generous proposals.

drain welcome to the show thank you very much for being with us well first of all you play in russia today and european basketball is generally considered to be softer than in the united states do you believe that's true after that game when you suffered a broken nose and a concussion is released after that in the states well i don't believe it so far because you know the level of the basketball growing up every year and you know more and more and be a player players with the n.b.a. experience coming to europe and playing here it's different yes but i wouldn't say it's softer. so it is a tough game style games you know people people doesn't want to lose e everybody fighting for every piece of on the floor and everybody competes hard so there's probably the same type of intensity. and be a pro dilemma will probably

a little bit lower but you know you played in a team here in moscow in new year two thousand now it's two thousand and eleven more than ten years have passed can you compare the level of basketball in russia well the change during these ten years on from the family future. improvement. idea back to the russian team after ten years being an m.b.a. and. all the infrastructure of the team changed its more professional people and here way better players the league or improved so much more and more players playing professionally on the highest level right now a lot of young guys who potentially can be a man be playing here and that's why the level you know where we were raised and. everybody stepped up. interviewed you last time it was several years ago you

told me i remember that your own club says colleges are also in the red army club you said if we bring it to the states and give them a chance to play in the n.b.a. for one season they would level up with a level up of the n.b.a. clubs and a and b. like of the same level is this still true i would say that the current team if you bring to term be their root there would get probably fifteen twenty wins a season but if you play more and more time when you know get some time to adjust and get used for the n.b.a. style. i wouldn't say we would be a playoff team but we would be somewhere close and fighting for the spot what is the reason i don't know you ask yourself this question why why can't the clubs other than in the united states be as good as the n.b.a. what's the main reason. well low profile i think it's cool preparation

before the n.b.a. you know the double where it's a huge. leap for the students where all the young talents grow up to be. you know as best as they can be and they're joining me right after their great great using as you know a very. good point to. be approving and they've grown up getting you know muscles and fighting so hard them. unfortunately there's not a lot of good steering basketball guys who was very talented at the age of fifteen sixteen years old they have to play for the for the senior chances and they may also be good because for the states for america's basketball is. just like football for brazilians it's like a religion does it well a lot of a lot of contras have

a basketball as a religion likely to any sort of. but i'm saying those america have all the steps and you know with a little kid having a great talent he comes to school then he comes to the coach then he comes to. those three steps and you know there's going to become such a complete players and europe unfortunately you know after right after school players have to go to the professional team and they skip that part. with their student basketball or the coalition the university basketball and i think that's the future loss of the well but even the best machines break down we have this lockout this is the reason why i came here to play what was the reason for this and for the previous lockout only greed or something else i mean we only see the one part you know all the fans want to see the basketball everybody thinks it's the greed and the you know everybody mad on the on the players everybody made their own

errors and you know i can understand that but you should understand one thing it's a huge huge business. which is broadcast in a three hundred contracts everybody likes to watch everybody likes to. be around basketball and you know be involved somehow so so that's why you should have a rules you should have agreement between two sides one little things so in the future you don't have problems and when you don't have that agreement that's why the problems all the problems comes out so right now there was a time when two sides cannot reach that agreement you know fortunately right now everything is set up you know and players can play basketball owners can own and you know enjoy the basketball and all the fans can enjoy it and the way we know when the lockout is finished and. who's the winner is there a winner the players all the others i think they have their winners as the fans

really your friends you've lost. i don't think you know both most sides cannot win because this is where i say they. should be compromised have to stand there for one hundred governments before without the lockout because there is not enough time for you know they only have like two or three months to reach that agreement and unfortunately there wasn't enough time to reach it so this wife happened that's why you know for three months almost four mos lockout was happened you know the season didn't start in the right time it wasn't you tell me that in russia. is progress and it's moving to are becoming better and better well do you think that the police here the russian players should also defend their rights and defend their rights the same way they do that in the united states it's impossible because because players in europe don't have a lever which. it's

a profitable league which is making money and you know if the players stop playing and stop making money in the europe. teams usually i would say ninety nine percent of the teams not profitable and not making market and less most are sponsored you know there there is you guys who like stormed a basketball team or football team and they pay money just to supported them not making money so that's why there's the only reason why the players can step up and say look we're not going to play ok at home play or have someone else who will think if you know the building we know this is the reason so listen so that means that players in the league in the n.b.a. i mean they they they feel themselves three year. because because the they're in business i mean i mean they know that somebody needs them well that's definitely not i think blair is an m.b.a. down the stamp their part of the product you know they know if they don't play well

they're going to lose money so you know every time they step on the court they have to give their best to have to give hundred percent they have to make people like the game of basketball like themselves like it will organization because you know they're working on the same side with their own arse to make. basketball as a product very attractive. you are a russian you are a guy born in the soviet union and just before before this interview you just told me i make a decision for my future and money isn't everything you know there are things that matter more than money well what is it in russia that matters so much for the for the players what they call and get in the states. i mean when you play in russia from when. you know your plan where the guys he grew up with you know

we have nine russian guys on the team right now and you know every day you're spending so much time when the locker room. or the chemistry you know when you have your guys coming every day and you know joking around the you know having fun with together and playing together you know you always on the same page you always kind of have same mentality and this is worth a lot you know we all want to play in the best leave definitely you know n.b.a. is the best way for the small group and we want to play there but you can't through plays. in a locker room because it's just a little different so so so so this locker room stuff you know talking about i understand that it's maybe even more important than the game itself. well it's not important in the game but but. what i was saying is the part of the life if you want to feel as comfortable as you want because you can be and i think. through way

a locker room playing in the russia and playing i want to remember it's a little different it's just more easy for myself because i'm russia. to feel the chemistry here rather than in america says. the famous russian and n.b.a. basketball spotlight will be back shortly after the break so stay with us and. soon which brightened. from fans to.

these films starts on t.v. dot com. excuse.

the few. witnesses. to history in the making of. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven on r.t. . welcome back to spotlight i'm al green over and just a reminder that my guest on the show today is a kitty lanko the famous russian basketball player known in the n.b.a. as a k forty seven. well there we started talking about the ability of russians to play abroad the sort of comfort of discomfort that you have when you

play when you play in a fairly well this is true not only for basketball this is also true for for hockey players in the n.h.l. this is also true it might sound funny for the russian girls in the modeling this last of them or are working work it's also a kind of sport you have brought well what do you think what's the reason that russians do really often they do really fit into that for the very men though they may be very good professionally well lo i know a lot of her examples for the athletes who plays in america you know they feel very comfortable and i know a lot of examples of people who doesn't know it but it is a language very think it's all individual and language probably psychologically you know people get to use for the rush and for the russian friends you know they don't want to miss their family to be france you know the ditty used for the you know you know circle. food i think it's important sometimes.

the chinese are different from russian but america is american food so different from it is it is different you know you have to get used to. i think one of the people coming to america alone you know i was a little bit lucky because i came and i came here with my wife and i have a support on my side. good cook. so so she supported me and i filled like you know i have somebody on my side but you know a lot of a lot of the common alone and now this y.b. always alone you know because she'll suffer to feel lonely warm you know that. you know bring them back home kids. all of the american do they feel themselves american or recession or what i have two boys who was born and salt lake city and i believe they show america. you know would be this big both languages. they know

they have fresh and they have america and. pretty free normal and. very comfortable in russia or it stays and i like it like that you know they don't have a problem to leave moscow or leave in salt lake city or leave in france i think it helps them in the future you know a bit they want to feel anything any any badness you know being in and out of contre. i've heard pinion from from russian elites and try to to where can broaden that came back to russia at that working abroad especially in the states in the best leagues and the channel and the and the and be a requires who are so disciplined who are sacrifice if it wasn't then when you play here away can be more relaxed is that true. maybe partially because if

you want to be on the highest level you have to have it anyway doesn't matter where you play an m.b.a. or you play in the russian elite if you want to be of the top when you want to be a successful athlete. you have to you have to have self-discipline you have to be you have to work hard you know to reach your goal. you have to sacrifice some some some things. in your life to get there and i don't think it's particularly go to. you know american sport what do you personally enjoy kirilenko a k forty seven when you come back now to play in the early club and are you different from the other guys i mean because you've got your good n.b.a. tattooed forehand so does that make you different does that make you special. well i think being experience is definitely helps. players look at your little bit different. know that you have

a great experience but it gives you away more responsibility because you can't. step you have to be on the same level every day and you have to. give the good example for everybody a bit you know i'm here but i'm here to relax i'm here to work i'm here to show you the example how it's supposed to be and you know it takes some probably external just sometimes because if you don't play in the n.b.a. you already did and everybody knows that you know you're in the team and you play him what you can but there's no more than i hear you're more like a symbol and b. and you know you can't really have you know. they would allow you the usual mistakes and mean you know it's not you know a lot of the mystery where. you mentioned that only nine.

russians this is only fifteen guys not everybody i want to look. up well now you are native here but you are a foreigner when you play in the states what's your opinion there's a huge discussion now in russia about about attracting foreigners to play for russian teams in football and ice hockey and basketball your opinion of that four is a good. that should we limit the number of foreigners i think i think it's a different situation. in russia. you know and it is the best league and everybody will support it doesn't matter if holcim is foreigners you know because there is a lot of examples like when a lot of foreigners play there in russia i think it's a little different situation because. we. have a very beacon stooped over the national teams and we all want own national team to be successful. or there are to be successful we have to have russian players to play well and if we have every team you know to bring

a lot of foreigners and the russian players in a play we're going to lose our national team. that's why i think we should have a restriction so you are in favor i think we should have a reason to do. what it should be like a crazy you know it should be a balance what would you say how many how many is enough pretty fuzzy person dhoni for a person to be honest well you never know the coach you know that you don't have an answer you know and there will be involved and a wiser should be it should be analyzed because you know they're for the relationship then allies and see how the season goes how many russian players played well and you know monitor the situation so next year because change it or keep it like a vase you know keep it the same way. it's not my job right now maybe in the future when i you know finish my career. somebody in a federation of them will do it ok listen well speaking about your career you

definitely want to take part in the london olympics you were pretty successfully personally at least at the previous olympics the olympics even with the flag bearer for the russian team so what can you say about that london is sort of trying to look forward to to learn the workings about the future russia would definitely looking for. to be an olympics and a lot of the we know there are you know you know we july second we're going to have a qualification tournament and three teams are going to go to london so we're going to do our best to be there and you know being a russian delegation team. in two thousand and twelve what he say today this winter at the russian national team isn't something to really be afraid of you can compare the teams i mean the russian the american team you know a lot about it oh i don't think we should be afraid of you know well i think we

have a very promising team a last european championship we get the bronze medal two thousand so i want to get the gold medal and we play in pretty well you know we have young guys. you know he plays in denver nuggets right now he improved a lot and we're getting another guy from one bit which is pretty good for the team you know for the experience and the rest of the guys we have a great young guys from red army club. and i think we're i think we have a very very good young talented team so. do you think that that basketball is one of the one of the rushes go the expectations for the and are not really. here in the first of all we have to be there we can jump ahead of you know and think about the gold medal before we even you know we're going to fight for that for the invitation and. then i think o. main goal will be to get from the group for the quarterfinal and try to beat them

trying to get the best for five for the medal if we talk about the quality of qualifying for the for the olympic tournament who do you consider your main rival. was that will. always been pretty successful and pretty good grief team always tough. you know solid teams much don't most are going to show the great corage last year obamacare plus the teams from south america sports rica and new zealand team will be tough. so. there's going to be probably five six teams who is really going to be great contenders for three spots thank you thank you very much andrei and that just a reminder that my guest on the show today was i will be the famous russian basketball players that are in the n.b.a. i'm a k forty six and that's it for there from all of the spotlight will be back

with more full time to comment on what's going on in and. if you want to send me a letter if you have so why do you want me to enter the next fight just took me a lot of algorithms and r.t. if you need are you and that's keeps and we'll be back until then stay on our team and take.