Slava Medvedenko

Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko (Ukrainian: Станіслав "Слава" Медведенко; born April 4, 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.

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) April 4, 1979
Karapyshi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityUkrainian
Political partyVoice
ResidenceKyiv
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight253 lb (115 kg)
Career information
NBA draft1998: undrafted
Playing career1997–2007
PositionPower forward
Number14, 3
Career history
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
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

NBA career

Medvedenko, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, is known for his shoot-first mentality. His shooting technique and skill have never been in doubt, but his work ethic and defense were far behind his offensive skills in his early career.

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

The 2003–04 season was his breakout year, as Karl Malone injured his knee and Medvedenko started the majority of games. As such, his scoring and rebounding averages doubled and he was no longer seen as a liability in the fans' eyes. Unfortunately, an injury kept him out of the 2004 pre-season and he dropped down the depth chart, unable to find his way back into the lineup under Rudy Tomjanovich. With Phil Jackson's return to the Lakers, there was hope that Medvedenko would play a greater role due to his experience with the triangle offense. However, due to a herniated disc in his lower back that required surgery, he missed almost the entire 2006 season.[1] He was waived at the beginning of March 2006, to clear roster space to enable the Lakers to sign guard Jim Jackson.[2]

Medvedenko was signed by the Atlanta Hawks on December 28, 2006 for about $600,000, for the remainder of the season.[3][4]

NBA career statistics

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

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01 L.A. Lakers 705.6.4801.000.5831.3.3.1.14.6
2001–02 L.A. Lakers 71610.3.477.000.6612.2.6.4.24.7
2002–03 L.A. Lakers 581010.7.434.000.7212.4.3.2.14.4
2003–04 L.A. Lakers 683821.2.441.000.7675.0.8.6.38.3
2004–05 L.A. Lakers 4349.8.455.000.8211.8.3.2.03.8
2005–06 L.A. Lakers 203.0.500.000.000.0.5.0.01.0
2006–07 Atlanta 1405.8.414.500.8501.0.1.0.13.0
Career 2635812.7.450.154.7402.8.5.3.25.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 L.A. Lakers 703.0.600.000.000.6.0.0.0.9
2003 L.A. Lakers 908.1.556.000.6672.0.1.1.13.8
2004 L.A. Lakers 21111.3.440.000.8102.5.5.2.24.0
Career 3718.9.477.000.7782.0.3.1.13.3

Political career

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.[5][6] But the party only managed to win 9 seats.[7]

Military career

In 2022, he auctioned off both his NBA championship rings and memorabilia in order to raise money for the Ukrainian military.[8] 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 Paul Gasol and Sasha Vujacic.[9]

References

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