Vitaly Potapenko
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | March 21, 1975
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 | 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) |
2018–2024 | Memphis Grizzlies (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As assistant coach: | |
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 |
Vitalii Mykolayovych Potapenko[1] (/poʊˈtɑːpɛŋkoʊ/ poh-TAH-peng-koh,[2] Template:Lang-uk; born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player who used to be 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. Nicknamed "The Ukraine Train",[1] 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.[3][4]
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,[5] and the Santa Cruz Warriors and later as an assistant director of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers,[6] helping them win their first ever NBA championship.
NBA career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996–97 | Cleveland | 80 | 3 | 15.5 | .440 | .500 | .736 | 2.7 | .5 | .3 | .4 | 5.8 |
1997–98 | Cleveland | 80 | 0 | 17.7 | .480 | .000 | .708 | 3.9 | .7 | .3 | .4 | 7.1 |
1998–99 | Cleveland | 17 | 12 | 27.5 | .437 | .000 | .673 | 5.5 | .9 | .6 | .9 | 8.4 |
1998–99 | Boston | 33 | 32 | 28.1 | .521 | – | .547 | 7.2 | 1.8 | .7 | .6 | 10.8 |
1999–00 | Boston | 79 | 72 | 22.7 | .499 | .000 | .681 | 6.3 | 1.0 | .5 | .4 | 9.2 |
2000–01 | Boston | 82 | 7 | 23.2 | .476 | – | .728 | 6.0 | .8 | .6 | .3 | 7.5 |
2001–02 | Boston | 79 | 9 | 17.0 | .455 | – | .742 | 4.4 | .4 | .5 | .2 | 4.6 |
2002–03 | Seattle | 26 | 2 | 15.4 | .441 | – | .759 | 3.4 | .2 | .3 | .3 | 4.6 |
2003–04 | Seattle | 65 | 39 | 21.8 | .489 | – | .641 | 4.4 | .8 | .3 | .4 | 7.1 |
2004–05 | Seattle | 33 | 1 | 10.2 | .517 | – | .871 | 2.4 | .3 | .2 | .1 | 3.5 |
2005–06 | Seattle | 24 | 12 | 13.4 | .500 | – | .588 | 2.6 | .3 | .1 | .1 | 3.1 |
2005–06 | Sacramento | 9 | 0 | 3.5 | .714 | – | – | .2 | .2 | .0 | .0 | 1.1 |
2006–07 | Sacramento | 3 | 0 | 4.3 | .000 | – | – | .7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Career | 610 | 189 | 19.0 | .479 | .167 | .694 | 4.5 | .7 | .4 | .3 | 6.5 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Cleveland | 4 | 0 | 17.5 | .400 | – | .500 | 2.8 | .8 | .5 | .0 | 4.3 |
2005 | Seattle | 5 | 0 | 7.4 | .500 | – | – | 1.4 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
2006 | Sacramento | 4 | 0 | 2.4 | .500 | – | – | .3 | .0 | .3 | .0 | 1.0 |
Career | 13 | 0 | 9.0 | .448 | – | .500 | 1.5 | .2 | .2 | .0 | 2.4 |
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "Vitaly Potapenko Bio". NBA. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008.
- ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. October 24, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ MMT Estudiantes former players
- ^ "What the Hell Happened to...Vitaly Potapenko?".
- ^ Dakota Wizards Hire Potapenko As Assistant Coach
- ^ "Vitaly Potapenko returning to Cleveland Cavaliers as player-development coach". June 4, 2013.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- NBA.com Profile
- Cleveland Cavaliers' Front Office
- 1975 births
- Living people
- Basketball players from Kyiv
- BC Budivelnyk players
- Boston Celtics players
- CB Estudiantes players
- Centers (basketball)
- Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches
- Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks
- Cleveland Cavaliers players
- Dakota Wizards coaches
- Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants coaches
- Indiana Pacers assistant coaches
- Liga ACB players
- NBA players from Ukraine
- Power forwards
- Sacramento Kings players
- Santa Cruz Warriors coaches
- Seattle SuperSonics players
- Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Spain
- Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Ukrainian men's basketball players
- Wright State Raiders men's basketball players