In a very lengthy interview earlier in the year with RBC-Ukraine, a Ukrainian news agency, former Los Angeles Lakers big man Stanislav “Slava” Medvedenko spoke on a range of topics. Aside many questions on his journey to the NBA, his life after it, and his views currently about it, Medvedenko – a Ukrainian citizen – was also asked about the ongoing war with Russia, and his role within it.
Medvedenko and his wife have both served in the Ukrainian military in the ongoing conflict against Russia, in a voluntary capacity. And in the interview, he gave some details about his experience of the war.
Life At The Front Line
While Slava says he saw no actual conflict, he was armed and ready for some. Despite having no training in tactical skills or with the firearm, Medvedenko and his battalion was charged with the task running resupply missions to the front line, an experience he calls “unforgettable” in a harrowing way.
“I was in Bucha, delivering humanitarian aid and medicine”, Medvedenko said. “The area was still mined; the Russians had only retreated the day before. We saw burnt-out tanks along the highway. Bodies lay right in the streets. Some hadn’t left their basements and cellars for a month.
“My volunteers and I helped children who had fled from the Donetsk and Kherson regions. Some children barely communicated and were very quiet. Some were on antidepressants and would wake up screaming at night.”
“As the saying goes, there’s a lot to remember, but nothing to tell the children.”
Decision To Sell Lakers Rings
Medvedenko also spoke about his decision to sell his Lakers championship rings, in a bid to raise money for the war effort.
“In 2022, when Russia’s full-scale invasion began, I put them up for auction”, said Slava. “They fetched $250,000. We spent the money on psychological rehabilitation for children, the restoration of a sports hall in Chernihiv, and equipment for young basketball players. These funds lasted for approximately two years.”
“One of them was a dentist from Los Angeles. He jokingly messaged me on Instagram: ‘Dude, let me do your teeth, come over.’ He was funny. We text each other, and he sometimes asks how things are in Ukraine. I didn’t really talk to the other one.”
Reportedly, the Lakers have offered to replace Medvedenko’s championship rings.
Medvedenko’s Lakers Career
Amid a wide variety of questions covering subjects from the running of the Ukrainian Basketball Federation, Alex Len, Svi Mykhailiuk and Mike Fratello, Medvedenko inevitably also fielded questions about his time with the Lakers.
Specifically, Slava spoke on his experiences with Shaquille O’Neal (whom he called a “true team player”), Kobe Bryant (“a sociopath”), and his decision to turn down an offer to join the Dallas Mavericks on a four-year, $16 million contract in the summer of 2004 (“sometimes I regret not accepting it, but that’s just the way it is”).
Medvedenko joined the Lakers as a free agent in the summer of 2000, and would stay with the team for six seasons. He would only play for one other NBA team, featuring for the Atlanta Hawks for part of the 2007 season as an injury replacement for the very, very different Josh Smith. And after departing the Hawks, he would never play professionally again, with injuries truncating his career aged 28.
Since then, Medvedenko has tried his hand at acting, appearing in a minor cameo in a film called Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!, a Carmen Electra comedy that somehow failed to be nominated for any Oscars. [It is now available in its entirety for free on YouTube, which is always a sign of a film’s quality. Medvedenko’s cameo, as a waiter, begins at the 1:10.43 mark.] This tangent is also discussed in the RBC-Ukraine, when he says acting is not for him, as it requires an actor to “dedicate [their] whole life to it”.
Maybe so. But nothing when compared to a war effort.