However, the team of Stas (or Slava, as he is called in America), which was considered the main contender for the championship title, failed to beat the Detroit Pistons in the final. Although in terms of roster talent, the Lakers are head and shoulders above everyone. Just look at Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone! It is almost impossible to deal with this quartet on the court. But Detroit, which took its due not through a scattering of star names, but through well-oiled collective actions and rehearsed combinations, managed to neutralize the leaders of the Southerners. The 4:1 score in the final series speaks for itself. The Lakers were defeated outright and very beautifully.
The Californians' disappointment was so strong that even a devotee of Zen Buddhism, Phil Jackson - the celebrated Lakers coach who had repeatedly led his teams to the championship title - resigned. But nature abhors a vacuum. Reports have already appeared that a well-known specialist Rudy Tomjanovich, who had successfully recovered from cancer, could become Jackson's successor.
There is talk that the star-studded lineup of the Los Angeles team may also break up. At least, O'Neal and Bryant openly voice their dissatisfaction with certain factors, hinting, apparently, either at the club's proposal to improve contract terms or at an imminent parting. Medvedenko, whose contract with the club has expired, is also ready to follow the path of his star teammates.
"I really am already a free agent," says Stanislav. "But regarding a change of club or contract extension, I cannot say anything definite, since I haven't thought about it yet. Officially, negotiations in the NBA begin on July 1, although my agent said that five or six Association clubs are already interested in basketball player Medvedenko."
In principle, a two-time NBA champion who doubled his playing time in the last season (21 minutes on average versus ten in the two previous championships) and successfully replaced one of the most productive NBA players of all time, Karl Malone, when the Mailman was injured, should have no problems with employment.
According to available information, another Pacific Coast club - the Portland Trail Blazers - is showing great interest in the Ukrainian forward, where, apparently, the Lithuanian center Arvydas Sabonis and his brilliant play are well remembered. How else can one interpret the fact that the Georgian Vladimir Stepania, who moved to Portland from the Miami Heat a year ago, has already been joined by Sergei Monya, a Russian selected in the first round of the 2004 draft, and another Russian player (of Ukrainian origin) exchanged from New Jersey - Viktor Khryapa? Add to this the possible appearance of Stanislav Medvedenko in the Northerners' camp, and you can start talking about a basketball analog of the famous 'Russian Five' in the hockey 'Detroit Red Wings' of the mid-90s.
By the way, Medvedenko himself is quite okay with the move. Like, it's a young person's thing - he psyched himself up ('Stas, you need to!') and went. Especially since in the States he still feels not at home. Kyiv, he says, is better anyway. "I am Ukrainian, and I will remain one. Yes, I have been in the USA for the fourth year now and have settled into this country. But after my career I will definitely return to Ukraine. Overseas, despite all the benefits, I feel discomfort. I have not become Americanized. And if it weren't for my beloved girlfriend nearby (she, by the way, moved to Los Angeles from Kyiv along with Stanislav. - Editor's note), and I didn't see my parents, my stay in California would have been much more difficult." By the way, the parents of our basketball player organically cannot stand America, although they do visit their son from time to time.
However, why get ahead of ourselves and start talking about how and when Medvedenko, who just turned 25 this year, will end his career? Let's better talk about what the past season brought our most decorated basketball player.
So, in the 2003/2004 championship, Stanislav finally managed to break into the starting lineup of the star team, noticeably improving his game - both on offense and defense. This is all the more valuable since, on the eve of the season, Malone and Payton, recognized masters who were immediately assigned places in the starting five, moved to the Lakers. The time when the inexperienced Medvedenko was looked after by the most decorated Ukrainian basketball player Alexander Volkov, who came to Los Angeles with Stanislav and served as his interpreter, manager, and fitness coach, is already in the past.
"I was constantly next to Stas," recalls Volkov, the 1988 Seoul Olympic champion and former NBA team 'Atlanta Hawks' player. "After all, by the time he arrived in the US, Medvedenko not only did not speak English, but also had no idea how to behave so that stars like Shaquille O'Neal or Kobe Bryant would accept him as an equal. But one thing Stanislav could not be denied was his work ethic. It commanded respect from both the coach and his teammates. It was noticeable: playing one-on-one against Medvedenko in practice, Shaq did not slack off but worked at full strength. By the way, Stas developed the warmest relationship with Shaq. One could even say they became best friends. When I was leaving, having refused the offer to sign a lucrative contract and stay in Los Angeles not as a personal trainer but rather as a mentor-father figure, O'Neal promised to take Stanislav under his wing." I will add on my own that the black giant, known for his curiosity and desire to visit different parts of the world, once promised that he would definitely go to China (at the invitation of the Chinese center playing in the NBA, Yao Ming) and Kyiv, where Slava persistently invites him...
But let's return directly to basketball. In his first NBA season, Medvedenko, to put it mildly, did not often appear on the court - seven times, but already in the next championship he played 71 matches out of 82 (six - in the starting lineup), a year later he had 58 matches (ten - in the "start"). And finally, in the past season Stanislav appeared on the court from the first minutes 38 times, and in total played 68 matches.
Moreover, it was in the completed championship that Medvedenko set a number of personal records. For example, he scored 26 points in a game twice, made 13 accurate shots per game, tried to hit the target 21 times per game, made 9 rebounds each on defense and offense per game, as well as 14 - total (in attack and offense) per match. In addition - 4 assists in one meeting, 3 steals in one meeting (twice) and 2 blocks per game (seven times). And to top it off, I note that Medvedenko played 41 minutes on the court three times during the season. In short, he had a very decent season, but, unfortunately, failed to put a bold full stop in it.
In Medvedenko's immediate plans - appearing at home in July. "Actually, I try to come to Kyiv every year. I will spend the entire vacation in Ukraine. And in August I plan to go to Italy, to the city of Treviso, to a summer camp. What kind of camp? It brings together the most talented young players aged 20-22. And from the NBA, some European basketball players will come to the camp (including Ukrainian Vitaly Potapenko), whose main goal is to demonstrate various new exercises to the youth. I will also try to share my experience."