NBA champion will auction championship rings to aid Ukraine

Ukraine native and former NBA player Slava Medvedenko will auction off his two championship rings to help his country fight against Russia.

The 43-year-old Ukraine native played seven seasons in the NBA and won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001 and 2002 alongside Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

He still lives in Kyiv and has seen firsthand the destruction in his homeland. “Why do I need these rings if they’re just sitting in my safe?” he told the Associated Press.

“I just recognize I can die. After that, I just say I have to sell them to show people leadership, to held my Ukrainian people to live better, to help kids.”

Medvedenko has served in Ukraine’s territorial defense, alongside other high profile Ukrainian athletes. He ran for a seat on Kyiv’s city council in 2020, but did not win. He told the Associated Press his family has rejoined him in Kyiv.

“I’m not the best solider or the best shooter, but I can give them support. I’m happy I don’t have a chance to shoot somebody. Our army did a great job to defend Kyiv and I thank them.”

The auction of his championship rings will happen July 27 to August 5 on SCP Auctions. They are hopeful each ring will bring over $100,000 with all proceeds going to Ukraine. Medvedenko would like to see the money be used to rebuild sports facilities destroyed by the war.

“We want to restore gyms because the Russian army bombed more than a hundred schools. Our country needs a lot of money to fix the schools. Sports gyms are going to be last in the line to fix it, but in the winter kids will need to play inside.”

For more information on the auction, including how to place a bid, click here.