Vitaly Potapenko

Vitaly Potapenko

Memphis Grizzlies
Position	Assistant coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1975-03-21) March 21, 1975 Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Ukrainian
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	280 lb (127 kg)
Career information
College	Wright State (1994–1996)
NBA draft	1996: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career	1992–2008
Position	Center
Number	52, 9, 20
Coaching career	2009–present
Career history
As player:
1992–1994	Budivelnyk
1996–1999	Cleveland Cavaliers
1999–2002	Boston Celtics
2002–2006	Seattle SuperSonics
2006–2007	Sacramento Kings
2007–2008	MMT Estudiantes
As coach:
2009–2010	Fort Wayne Mad Ants (assistant)
2010–2011	Indiana Pacers (assistant)
2011–2012	Dakota Wizards (assistant)
2012–2013	Santa Cruz Warriors (assistant)
2013–2017	Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)
2018–present	Memphis Grizzlies (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player: 2× Ukrainian champion (1993, 1994) As assistant coach: NBA champion (2016)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,995 (6.5 ppg)
Rebounds	2,725 (4.5 rpg)
Assists	418 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Vitaly Nikolaevich Potapenko (Template:Lang-uk, pronounced vee-TAH-lee poe-TAH-pen-koe, born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies 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, believed by many as the best player from the 1996 draft. 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.

NBA transactions

• September 27, 1995 – 1996 first-round draft pick that was eventually used to draft him traded by the Washington Bullets to the Cavaliers for Mark Price.
• March 11, 1999 – Traded by the Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics for Andrew DeClercq and a 1999 first-round draft pick (used on Andre Miller).
• July 22, 2002 – Traded by the Celtics with Kenny Anderson and Joseph Forte to the Seattle SuperSonics for Vin Baker and Shammond Williams.
• February 23, 2006 – In a four-team, nine-player trade; traded to the Sacramento Kings; the SuperSonics acquired Earl Watson, Bryon Russell, a 2008 second-round pick (used on DeVon Hardin) and cash from the Denver Nuggets, Nuggets also acquired Ruben Patterson from the Trail Blazers, Trail Blazers acquired Voshon Lenard from the Nuggets and Brian Skinner from the Kings; Kings also acquired Sergei Monia from the Trail Blazers.

Other

• Potapenko was a sociology major at Wright State.
• His second-favorite sport is soccer.
• Favorite food is Swedish meatballs.

See also

• List of foreign NBA coaches

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com  and Basketball Reference
• NBA.com Profile
• Cleveland Cavaliers' Front Office