Are there any Ukrainian NBA players in the league right now?

As the NBA community saw chaos unfold between Russia and Ukraine, the history between Ukraine and the league came into focus.

Basketball is a global sport, and the US-based NBA is considered the most competitive professional basketball league. Athletes from around the world strive to compete in the NBA for maximum exposure and more lucrative deals.

While the NBA is dominated by Eastern European stars like Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić, a number of Ukrainian-born athletes have also made it to the NBA. Historically, there have been 9 NBA players born in Ukraine, although as the current conflict implies, the history between Russia and Ukraine make national identity quite complicated.

Viktor Khryapa is proof of this: he was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1982, but he has Russian citizenship and played for CSKA Moscow before and after his time in the NBA. Although the birthplace of Ukraine and included in this list, he is considered one of the The greatest Russian NBA player All Time.

Are there any Ukrainian NBA players in the league right now?

Currently, there are two active NBA players born in Ukraine: Alex Len and Svi Mykhailiuk.

Len was the 5th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and has now played for 5 different NBA teams, including 2 caps for the Sacramento Kings. The 28-year-old center is now with the kings again, even though Len has been considered part of a potential deal for a Cavs . deal Before the deadline. Len hit the headlines in 2020 when it brought him more than 24 days to recover from the coronavirus, demonstrating how devastating the virus can be to professional athletes.

Sviatoslav “Svi” Mykhailiuk is an accomplished shooter who was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Since then, Mykhailiuk has joined four different NBA teams, his current team being the Toronto Raptors. While Mykhailiuk is said to have picked the Raptors when he returns to the Lakers in 2021, he has underperforming this season even though there are more room to shootthis put the Raptors in an impossible situation.