Slava Medvedenko

Stanislav Medvedenko
Станіслав Медведенко

Personal information
Born	(1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 Karapyshi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Ukrainian
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	253 lb (115 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	1998: undrafted
Playing career	1997–2007
Position	Power forward
Number	14, 3
Career history
1997–1998	Budivelnik Kiev
1998–1999	Alita Alytus
1999–2000	Kyiv
2000–2006	Los Angeles Lakers
2006–2007	Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA champion (2001, 2002)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko (Template:Lang-uk, born April 4, 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player, who last played with the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association. His position was power forward.

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 (much to the ire of sports commentators, especially Stephen A. Smith).

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. He was waived at the beginning of March 2006, to clear roster space to enable the Lakers to sign guard Jim Jackson.

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

NBA career statistics

A list of Medvedenko's 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

†	Denotes seasons in which Medvedenko won an NBA championship

Regular season

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

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

External links

• Player profile on NBA.com
• Player profile on ESPN.com
• Interview with Medvedenko
• Slava's First American TV Interview
• Player profile on basketball-reference.com