We are recalling all foreign players that have ever played in the League, telling about foreign championships and National teams of different countries in World basketball map project. Today we’re going to talk about basketball in Ukraine.
Population: 41.8 mln
Players in the history of League: 57
Full list of players: Andrey Agafonov. Konstantin Anikiyenko. Mikhail Anisimov. Aleksandr Antipov. Bogdan Bayda. Ivan Belitskiy. Aleksandr Bella. Vyacheslav Bobrov. Igor Boyarkin. Pavel Burenko. Anton Buts. Nikolay Vilkhovetskiy. Konstantin Glazyrin. Dmitriy Glebov. Roman Dmitriyenko. Artur Drozdov. Vladimir Egorov. Dmitriy Zabirchenko. Igor Zaytsev. Denis Ivanov. Maksim Ivshin. Daniil Kozlov. Aleksandr Kolchenko. Maksim Kolyadov. Maks Konate. Maksim Korniyenko. Yuriy Korshunov. Vyacheslav Kravtsov. Rostislav Krivich. Andrey Lebedev. Aleksey Len. Aleksandr Lipovyy. Kristian Lugovtsov. Denis Lukashov. Maksim Lukianov. Maksim Lutsenko. Andrey Malysh. Aleksandr Mishula. Aleksey Pecherov. Kirill Natyazhko. Aleksey Onufriyev. Aleksandr Osnach. Ruslan Otverchenko. Aleksey Pecherov. Evgeniy Podorvannyy. Maksim Pustozvonov. Stanislav Serpilin. Aleksandr Skutelnik. Artem Slipenchuk. Leonid Stefanishin. Stanislav Timofeyenko. Kirill Fesenko. Aleksey Chigrinov. Igor Chumakov. Aleksandr Shaposhnikov. Aleksey Shchepkin. Bogdan Yasinenko
There have been 57 Ukrainian players in VTB United League with the majority of them playing for local clubs: Donetsk (2009-10, 2012-14), Azovmash (2009-2014), Dnepr (2010-11) and Budivelnik (2011-12).
Vyacheslav Kravtsov and Alexey Chigrinov were the only to play for non-Ukranian clubs of VTB League.
Kirill Fesenko, one of the most popular Ukrainian players of VTB League, was named Janruary MVP in 2015, in season 2014/15 was ranked 3rd in efficiency, 5th in rebounds and 12th in points scored.
In 2010/11 season, Maxim Pustozvonov was named MVP of 5th round of the regular season.
In addition to that, VTB United League awarded the best Ukrainian players of the season in 2012/13 and 2013/14 editions. Alexey Pecherov received the award in 2013, and Kirill Natyazhko was the best in 2014.
Denis Lukashov leads the rating of Ukrainian players in terms of number of seasons (6), clubs (5) and games played (84). He played for Budivelnik, Donetsk, Azovmash, Avtodor and Enisey.
Basketball in Ukraine
League: Ukrainskaya basketbolnaya superliga
Founded: 1992
Number of teams: 10
League’s web-site: https://fbu.ua/
The Ukrainian league, founded in 1992, will have 10 clubs representing 10 cities in the coming season.
Within 28 years of league’s history, 19 teams took the prize places (considering the fact that Superliga was divided into two championships in 2008/09 and 2015/16 seasons). Budivelnik and Azovmash have the largest number of titles (10 and 7).
Apart from the league, the clubs also play in Cup of Ukraine and european cups. In 2020/21 season, three clubs will represent Ukraine in Europe: Dnepr in the Champions League, plus Kiev-Basket and Prometey in FIBA Europe Cup.
There are 4 rounds in Ukrainian league. 8 teams qualify to the playoff after the regular season with quarterfinals and semifinals played in best-of-three series. The final is played in best-of-five format.
Season MVP award is given after the completion of the championship. Ex-CSKA guard Manuchar Mrakoishvili won the award in 2009, ex-Loko guard Malcolm Delaney was named MVP in 2013.
Many players with VTB League experience had their seasons in Ukraine. Patrick Beverley (ex-Spartak) and Randy Culpepper (ex-Krasnyi Oktyabr) started their professional career there. Sean King, Willie Deane, Luis Flores, Rolands Freimanis and other players could also be seen in the Ukrainian league.
Interesting fact
VTB United League Hall of Famer, participant of VTB United League All-Star Game (2017), VTB United League Regular Season MVP (2010), VTB United League playoff MVP (2013), 8-time VTB United League champion Viktor Khryapa was born in Kiev. His brother Nikolay Khryapa was a member of Ukrainian national team.
Ukraine National team
FIBA rank: 29
FIBA members: since 1992
Achievements: World Cup appearance, 8 Eurobasket appearances
Before Ukraine joined FIBA in 1992, the Ukrainian athletes had represented USSR at global events.
Ukraine made its Eurobasket debut 5 years later (1997). The yelow-blues were stopped after a group stage, but were marked after a surprising win over Croatia (95:88). In 13-16th place games Ukraine outplayed Latvia (84:76) and Slovenia (80:76).
Team’s top performance happened at 2013 Eurobasket. The team led by the American coach Mike Fratello reached the quarterfinals at took the 6th place. A year later, Ukraine made its debut at the World Cup with the highlight of winning the first quarter (19:14) against the USA (71:95).
Ukraine is ranked 29th in FIBA rating (16 among European teams). Ex-Nizhny Novgorod head coach Ainars Bagatskis manages the team.
Most famous Ukrainian players in history
Stanislav Medvedenko. Ukrainian league champion and MVP (2000), Lithuanian league best foreign player (1999), 7 seasons in the NBA (263 games). Two NBA titles within Los Angeles Lakers (2001, 2002).
Alexander Volkov. Olympic champion, Eurobasket champion, 2-time silver medalist of the World Cup, 2-time USSR champion, champion of Greece. In 1989, Volkov became the first Ukrainian player in the NBA. Included into FIBA 50 greatest players list in 1991.
Alexander Belostennyi. Olympic champion, World champion, 3-time Eurobasket champion, 3-time World Cup silver medalist, Eurobasket silver medalist. In 2011, Odessa basketball school named after A. Belostennyi was opened.
Vitalyi Potapenko. 2-time champion of Ukraine, Ukrainian player with the most seasons (11) and gaems (610) in the NBA. In 2016, Vitalyi Potapenko won the NBA as an assistant coach in Cleveland.
Alexey Len. NBA 2013 draft pick no. 5, winner of Cup of Ukraine. 7 seasons in the NBA, top scoring Ukrainian in the NBA (8.0 points per game).
Worth mentioning: Sergey Kovalenko, Artur Drozdov, Sergey Lishchuk, Kirill Fesenko, Grigoryi Khizhnyak
