Vitaly Nikolaevich Potapenko ( uk, Віталій Миколайович Потапенко, pronounced ''vee-TAH-lee poe-TAH-pen-koe'', born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who is currently an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at Wright State University and was selected 12th overall by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

in the 1996 NBA draft, also the last pick before Kobe Bryant, believed by many as the best player from the 1996 draft. Nicknamed "The Ukraine Train", he played for the

, the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, as well as MMT Estudiantes in the Spanish ACB. Since retiring as a player, Potapenko has been serving as an assistant coach for several teams, among them the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

, the Dakota Wizards, and the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

and later as an assistant director of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping them win their first ever NBA championship.

Notes

External links

NBA.com Profile

Cleveland Cavaliers' Front Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potapenko, Vitaly 1975 births Living people Basketball players from Kyiv BC Budivelnyk players Boston Celtics players CB Estudiantes players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Dakota Wizards coaches Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Fort Wayne Mad Ants coaches Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Liga ACB players National Basketball Association players from Ukraine Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings players Santa Cruz Warriors coaches Seattle SuperSonics players Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Spain Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in the United States Ukrainian men's basketball players Wright State Raiders men's basketball players

See also

Notes

External links