The Most Famous

BASKETBALL PLAYERS from Ukraine

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This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Basketball Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,757 Basketball Players, 8 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 21st most number of Basketball Players behind Turkey, and Georgia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Basketball Players.

Photo of Anatoli Polivoda

1. Anatoli Polivoda (1947 - 2024)

With an HPI of 54.42, Anatoli Polivoda is the most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Anatoliy Ivanovych Polyvoda (Ukrainian: Анатолій Іванович Поливода; 29 May 1947 – 22 January 2024) was a Ukrainian basketball player who played for the Budivelnyk of Kyiv and the Soviet Union. He trained at VSS Avanhard in Kyiv. Polyvoda played in the Soviet team at the 1968 Olympic Games in which he won a bronze medal, and at the 1972 Olympic Games where he won a gold medal. Polyvoda died on 22 January 2024, at the age of 76. Of the Munich Olympic champion team, only Modestas Paulauskas and Ivan Edeshko are still living.

Photo of Alexander Belostenny

2. Alexander Belostenny (1959 - 2010)

With an HPI of 45.38, Alexander Belostenny is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Alexander Mikhaylovich Belostenny (Ukrainian: Олександр Михайлович Білостінний, romanized: Oleksandr Mykhailovych Bilostinnyi; Russian: Александр Михайлович Белостенный; February 24, 1959 – May 25, 2010) was a Ukrainian professional basketball player. He was a member of the senior Soviet national team, from 1977 to 1992, except for an absence during a single competition, EuroBasket 1987. At a height of 2.16 m (7'0 1⁄4") tall, and a weight of 120 kg (260 lbs.), he played at the center position.

Photo of Victor Khryapa

3. Victor Khryapa (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 36.34, Victor Khryapa is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Victor Vladimirovich Khryapa (also trans. Viktor; Russian: Виктор Владимирович Хряпа; born August 3, 1982) is a Russian former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career playing for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. A versatile forward standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he is a three-time All-EuroLeague selection and won the EuroLeague Best Defender award in 2010. A regular member of the senior Russian former national basketball team, he was instrumental in their triumph at the EuroBasket 2007, where they won the gold medal. He also won two bronze medals at the EuroBasket 2011 and at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Slava Medvedenko

4. Slava Medvedenko (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 33.51, Slava Medvedenko is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko (Ukrainian: Станіслав "Слава" Медведенко; born 4 April 1979) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player, who played with the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association. His position was power forward. After his basketball career ended Medvedenko embarked on a political career in Ukraine.

Photo of Vitaly Potapenko

5. Vitaly Potapenko (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 33.10, Vitaly Potapenko is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Vitalii Mykolayovych Potapenko ( poh-TAH-peng-koh, Ukrainian: Віталій Миколайович Потапенко; born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at Wright State University and was selected 12th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1996 NBA draft, also the last pick before Kobe Bryant. Nicknamed "The Ukraine Train", he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, as well as MMT Estudiantes in the Spanish ACB. Since retiring as a player, Potapenko has been serving as an assistant coach for several teams, among them the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Indiana Pacers, the Dakota Wizards, and the Santa Cruz Warriors and later as an assistant director of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping them win their first ever NBA championship.

Photo of Kyrylo Fesenko

6. Kyrylo Fesenko (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 32.01, Kyrylo Fesenko is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Kyrylo Anatoliyovych Fesenko (Ukrainian: Кирило Анатолійович Фесенко; born 24 December 1986) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player who last played for Al-Nasr SC of the Libyan Division I Basketball League. Standing at 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in), he plays the center position. He wears a size 18 shoe and has a 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) wingspan and 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) standing reach (same standing reach as Greg Oden).

Photo of Alex Len

7. Alex Len (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 31.28, Alex Len is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Oleksii Yuriyovych Len (Ukrainian: Олексій Юрійович Лень; born June 16, 1993), commonly known as Alex Len (Ukrainian: Алекс Лень), is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before being drafted, he played two seasons for the Maryland Terrapins (then in the Atlantic Coast Conference) as well as a season with Dnipro.

Photo of Sergiy Gladyr

8. Sergiy Gladyr (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 31.25, Sergiy Gladyr is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Sergiy Gladyr (Ukrainian: Сергій Гладир; born 17 October 1988) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player. He was selected with the 49th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2009 NBA draft.

Photo of Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

9. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 29.57, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Sviatoslav "Svi" Yuriyovych Mykhailiuk (Ukrainian: Святосла́в Ю́рійович Михайлю́к, pronounced [swjɐtoˈslɑu̯ mɪxɐjˈlʲuk]; born June 10, 1997) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks and prior to that, he played for Cherkaski Mavpy in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague from 2012 to 2014 and for the Ukraine national team at the 2014 FIBA World Cup. As a reserve with the 2023-24 Boston Celtics, Mykhailiuk won an NBA championship.

Photo of Oleksiy Pecherov

10. Oleksiy Pecherov (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 28.81, Oleksiy Pecherov is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Oleksiy Ivanovych Pecherov (Ukrainian: Олексій Іванович Печеров; born 8 December 1985) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player. He was also a member of the Ukraine national basketball team.

People

Pantheon has 12 people classified as Ukrainian basketball players born between 1947 and 1997. Of these 12, 10 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ukrainian basketball players include Victor Khryapa, Slava Medvedenko, and Vitaly Potapenko. The most famous deceased Ukrainian basketball players include Anatoli Polivoda, and Alexander Belostenny. As of April 2024, 4 new Ukrainian basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Slava Medvedenko, Vitaly Potapenko, and Joel Bolomboy.

Living Ukrainian Basketball Players

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Deceased Ukrainian Basketball Players

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Newly Added Ukrainian Basketball Players (2024)

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