The Los Angeles Lakers, led by team governor Jeanie Buss, extended a heartwarming gesture to former LA player Slava Medvedenko on Monday.

Medvedenko, who was part of the two Lakers teams that won NBA championships in 2001 and 2002, received two replacement championship rings from Buss and the Lakers during a fan event, as reported by Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

A Ukrainian, Slava Medvedenko was forced to auction off his pair of NBA championship rings to help raise funds for Ukrainian children amid his country's war with Russia.

In an interview with CBS News in August of 2022, Slava Medvedenko said that the money he'd get for selling his prized NBA possessions will go to an organization that seeks to put Ukrainian kids in a much safer place.

“Medvedenko said 100% of the money from the auction will go to his Fly High Foundation, ‘to help kids, to send them from the east of Ukraine, to move them in a safe place.'”

“These rings will just sit in a safe, it cannot help me. I have to do something positive,” Medvedenko adds.

Stanislav Medvedenko played six of his seven seasons in the NBA donning Lakers uniform. While he was not among the chief contributors on the court and was mostly a backup during his tenure in Los Angeles, he is still fondly remembered by many Lakers fans because of the aggressiveness and energy he provided the team whenever he was on the floor.

In 249 games with the Lakers, including 58 starts, Stanislav Medvedenko averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.9 minutes.