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Slava Medvedenko

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Slava Medvedenko
Slava Medvedenko being interviewed as a coach after a match in which the Ukrainian team U16 played in 2015
Personal details
Born (1979-04-04) 4 April 1979 (age 45)
Karapyshi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityUkrainian
Political partyHolos (Ukrainian for "Voice")
ResidenceKyiv
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
NBA draft1998: undrafted
Playing career1996–2007
PositionPower forward
Number14
Career history
1996–1997Dandy Basket
1997–1998Budivelnik Kyiv
1998–1999Alita Alytus
1999–2000Kyiv
20002006Los Angeles Lakers
2006–2007Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points1,390 (5.3 ppg)
Rebounds744 (2.8 rpg)
Assists136 (0.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko (Ukrainian: Станіслав "Слава" Медведенко; born 4 April 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player, who played with the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association. His position was power forward. After his basketball career ended Medvedenko embarked on a political career in Ukraine.

Early life

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Medvedenko is a native of Kyiv, Ukraine.[1]

Professional career

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Medvedenko began his professional career in 1996 in Ukraine. He played for Dandy Basket in 1996–97 and Budivelnik Kyiv in 1997–98. After a season in Lithuania with Alita Alytus in 1998–99, he returned to Ukraine to play for BC Kyiv in 1999–2000.[2]

Medvedenko joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2000–01 NBA season and was a member of the Lakers' championships in 2001 and 2002.[1]

Medvedenko standing two rows behind coach Phil Jackson at a White House ceremony following the Lakers' 2001 NBA Finals victory.

In the 2003–04 season, Medvedenko averaged career highs of 8.3 points and five rebounds. His contributions slipped in the playoffs, averaging only four points and 2.5 rebounds, but the Lakers liked his toughness and shooting ability. He was relied on due to injuries to Karl Malone and Horace Grant.[3]

In the 2004 off-season, Medvedenko signed a new two-year deal with the Lakers. With the team now coached by Rudy Tomjanovich following the departure of Phil Jackson, Medvedenko averaged 3.8 points and played in only 43 games in the 2004–05 season. He was criticised by his teammates for shooting too often, recording only 13 assists for the season.[4]

In January 2006, Medvedenko underwent season-ending back surgery after sustaining a herniated disc in his lower back in early November 2005. He appeared in just two games in the 2005–06 season.[5] He was waived by the Lakers on 6 March 2006, to clear roster space for the signing of Jim Jackson.[6][7]

On 28 December 2006, Medvedenko signed with the Atlanta Hawks for about $600,000, for the remainder of the 2006–07 NBA season.[1][8]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01 L.A. Lakers 7 0 5.6 .480 1.000 .583 1.3 .3 .1 .1 4.6
2001–02 L.A. Lakers 71 6 10.3 .477 .000 .661 2.2 .6 .4 .2 4.7
2002–03 L.A. Lakers 58 10 10.7 .434 .000 .721 2.4 .3 .2 .1 4.4
2003–04 L.A. Lakers 68 38 21.2 .441 .000 .767 5.0 .8 .6 .3 8.3
2004–05 L.A. Lakers 43 4 9.8 .455 .000 .821 1.8 .3 .2 .0 3.8
2005–06 L.A. Lakers 2 0 3.0 .500 .000 .000 .0 .5 .0 .0 1.0
2006–07 Atlanta 14 0 5.8 .414 .500 .850 1.0 .1 .0 .1 3.0
Career 263 58 12.7 .450 .154 .740 2.8 .5 .3 .2 5.3

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 L.A. Lakers 7 0 3.0 .600 .000 .000 .6 .0 .0 .0 .9
2003 L.A. Lakers 9 0 8.1 .556 .000 .667 2.0 .1 .1 .1 3.8
2004 L.A. Lakers 21 1 11.3 .440 .000 .810 2.5 .5 .2 .2 4.0
Career 37 1 8.9 .477 .000 .778 2.0 .3 .1 .1 3.3

Political career

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Medvedenko was a candidate (number 11 on the election list) for the Kyiv City Council of the party Voice in the 2020 Kyiv local election set for 25 October 2020.[9][10] The party only managed to win nine seats.[11]

Military career

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In 2022, Medvedenko auctioned off both his NBA championship rings and memorabilia in order to raise money for the Ukrainian military.[12][13] He and his wife both served in the military during Russian war against Ukraine. He was gifted two replacement championship rings in 2023 by Jeanie Buss. The ceremony was also attended by Pau Gasol and Sasha Vujacic.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Hawks add veteran Medvedenko to frontcourt crew". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Stanislav Medvedenko, Basketball Player, News, Stats - USbasket". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  3. ^ Bresnahan, Mike (3 August 2004). "Lakers Take at Least One Step Forward". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  4. ^ Bresnahan, Mike (25 June 2005). "Lakers Will Need to Change". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Medvedenko has back surgery, likely out for season". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 13 January 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Lakers Sign Jim Jackson; Waive Forward Slava Medvedenko". www.nba.com. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Lakers sign versatile Jackson, waive Medvedenko". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  8. ^ Bresnahan, Mike (30 December 2006). "Loss of Odom is taking its toll". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  9. ^ (in Ukrainian) List of "Voices" to the Kyiv City Council: candidate for mayor - Prytula, candidates for deputies - former "self-help" and "demalyans", Civil movement "Chesno" (21 September 2020)
  10. ^ Rada appoints next elections to local self-govt bodies for Oct 25, Interfax-Ukraine (15 July 2020)
  11. ^ (in Ukrainian) Results of the 2020 elections of the Kyiv City Council, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  12. ^ Harris, Beth (24 July 2022). "Former Laker Medvedenko auctions NBA title rings for Ukraine". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  13. ^ Yuccus, Jamie (2 August 2022). "Ex-Laker Slava Medvedenko puts NBA championship rings up for auction to help his native Ukraine". CBS News. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Slava Medvedenko gets replacement championship rings from the Lakers". Basketnews.com. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
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