Ex-Lakers player auctions his NBA rings

Former LA Lakers power forward Slava Medvedenko put his two NBA rings on auction in an attempt to raise some money for his native country Ukraine. These rings might turn out to be quite valuable as they have been won back in the days alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

Born in Kyiv, he spent the first three professional years of his career in Europe sharing time between Ukraine and Lithuania. After going undrafted in 1998, Medvedenko’s dream of playing in the NBA took a serious hit. However, two years later, in 2000, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.

Despite playing just seven games in his maiden season alongside the best basketball players in the world, he got his first NBA ring. In the 2001/02 season, Medvedenko slowly emerged as a decent power forward who had way more contribution for the title.

His best time in the NBA came during the 2003/04 season when he substituted Karl Malone who injured his knee halfway through the campaign. He averaged 8.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across 21.2 minutes per game. Unfortunately, injuries were his greatest obstacles throughout his career which ended in 2007 after a 1-year spell in Atlanta.