2016 NBA Draft: Hardest names to pronounce, ranked

2. Andrey Desyatnikov, C, Russia

Andrey Desyatnikov appears to be a fringe second-round pick at this point, making him a potential nightmare for announcers if he does hear his name called on June 23. The 7’3″, 230-pound behemoth spent the past year with Russia’s Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Russian VTB United league and Eurocup, where he averaged 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in just 7.9 minutes per night.

That limited amount of exposure won’t do draft analysts any favors, nor will his relatively paltry offering of available YouTube clips. Save for the above murder-dunk over Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert at EuroBasket 2015, there are slim pickings when it comes to seeing Desyatnikov in action for those without the resources to scout him in person.

His first name should be simple enough for broadcasters, particularly since Andrei Kirilenko’s name is said the same way, but his last name is bound to cause some headaches. Based on how the EuroBasket announcers pronounced it—”dehs-YAHT-nee-koh-ahv”—anyone who isn’t fluent in Russian is almost certain to struggle with saying that correctly. Though Desyatnikov mostly sounds like it’s spelled, Russian vowel sounds, particularly the “ov” at the end, should to lead to some hilarious mispronunciations.

DraftExpress has Desyatnikov ranked 50th on its latest Top 100, but CBS Sports’ Sam Vecenie has him 75th and he’s nowhere to be found in the Top 100 of ESPN.com’s Chad Ford. That only increases the probability of draft analysts not preparing a pronunciation guide in advance. Godspeed to those tasked with repeatedly saying his last name if he does get selected.

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