Former NBA pro Slava Medvedenko is auctioning off his two championship rings to benefit his war-torn homeland of Ukraine.
The 43-year-old triumphed in the world’s top professional basketball league in 2001 and 2002 with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside star players Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
The proceeds are to be used to support Ukrainian children by rebuilding school and club sports facilities that were destroyed during the war, US media reported.
“We want to rebuild them because the Russian army bombed more than a hundred schools,” Medvedenko told the AP news agency. “Our country needs a lot of money to build schools. Sports and sports facilities will be last in line. Winter is coming in Ukraine – children have to play indoors.”
The two NBA championship rings are reportedly valued at at least $100,000.