Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko (; born 4 April 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

and the

Los Angeles 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the

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

. His position was

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

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

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Early life

Medvedenko is a native of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine.

Professional career

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. Medvedenko joined the

for the

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. No ...

and was a member of the Lakers' championships in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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 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 spen ...

and Horace Grant. 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 Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

, 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. 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. He was waived by the Lakers on 6 March 2006, to clear roster space for the signing of Jim Jackson. On 28 December 2006, Medvedenko signed with the

for about $600,000, for the remainder of the

2006–07 NBA season The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The first NBA draft und ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 7 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .480 , , 1.000 , , .583 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 71 , , 6 , , 10.3 , , .477 , , .000 , , .661 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 58 , , 10 , , 10.7 , , .434 , , .000 , , .721 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 68 , , 38 , , 21.2 , , .441 , , .000 , , .767 , , 5.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 43 , , 4 , , 9.8 , , .455 , , .000 , , .821 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 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;",

† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 7 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .600 , , .000 , , .000 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 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 (, ), also known as Kyivrada (), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kyivans and the council is chaired by the M ...

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 produ ...

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" (21 September 2020) The party only managed to win nine seats.

Military career

In 2022, Medvedenko 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. He was gifted two replacement championship rings in 2023 by Jeanie Buss. The ceremony was also attended by Pau Gasol and Sasha Vujacic.

References

External links

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