Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko ( uk, Станіслав "Слава" Медведенко; born April 4, 1979) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, who played with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

and the Los Angeles Lakers in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball 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 in the United St ...

. His position was

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

. After his basketball career ended Medvedenko embarked on a political career in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. He now coaches Football at WB High School and has changed his name to Kyle.

NBA career

Medvedenko, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 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 (much to the ire of sports commentators, especially Stephen A. Smith). Shaq at the white house

The 2003–04 season was his breakout year, as

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone sp ...

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 Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, whic ...

. With

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

'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 Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

in his lower back that required surgery, he missed almost the entire 2006 season. He was waived at the beginning of March 2006, to clear roster space to enable the Lakers to sign

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Jim Jackson. Medvedenko was signed by the

on December 28, 2006 for about $600,000, for the remainder of the season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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, 71 , , 6 , , 10.3 , , .477 , , .000 , , .661 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 58 , , 10 , , 10.7 , , .434 , , .000 , , .721 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 38 , , 21.2 , , .441 , , .000 , , .767 , , 5.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 43 , , 4 , , 9.8 , , .455 , , .000 , , .821 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .414 , , .500 , , .850 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 263 , , 58 , , 12.7 , , .450 , , .154 , , .740 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2002† , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .600 , , .000 , , .000 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .556 , , .000 , , .667 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 1 , , 11.3 , , .440 , , .000 , , .810 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 37 , , 1 , , 8.9 , , .477 , , .000 , , .778 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.3

Political career

Medvedenko was a candidate (number 11 on the election list) for the

Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council ( uk, Київська міська рада, translit=Kyivska miska rada), also known as Kyivrada ( uk, Київрада), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The me ...

of the party

Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

in the 2020 Kyiv local election set for 25 October 2020.List of "Voices" to the Kyiv City Council: candidate for mayor - Prytula, candidates for deputies - former "self-help" and "demalyans"

Civil movement "Chesno" Chesno ( uk, Чесно, lit=honestly, fairly) is a Ukrainian public campaign that emerged late 2011 to advance a fair election process. It is widely known for its critical analysis and evaluation of politicians and the Verkhovna Rada (parliame ...

(21 September 2020) But the party only managed to win 9 seats.

Military career

In 2022, he auctioned off both his NBA championship rings and memorabilia in order to raise money for the Ukrainian military. He and his wife both served in the military during Russian war against Ukraine.

References

External links

Player profile on NBA.comPlayer profile on ESPN.comSlava's First American TV Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medvedenko, Slava 1979 births Living people Atlanta Hawks players BC Budivelnyk players Los Angeles Lakers players National Basketball Association players from Ukraine Power forwards (basketball) Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in the United States Ukrainian men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Voice (Ukrainian political party) politicians 21st-century Ukrainian politicians