Valeri Tikhonenko (; born 19 August 1964) is a retired

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. During his playing career, he played at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions, with power forward being his main position. He represented both the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

competitions. With the Soviet Union, he won a gold medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Professional career

Tikhonenko was selected by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, in the 7th round of the

1986 NBA draft The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986. Overview and aftermath This draft holds the record for the most players (out of prospects chosen) who later debuted in the NBA, with 66. Drug and health issues involving drafted players There were ...

, with the 157th overall draft pick. During his pro club career, Tikhonenko won three Russian Championships with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

(1998, 1999, 2000).

National team career

With the senior Soviet Union national team, Tikhonenko won a gold medal at the 1984 Friendship Games (the alternate tournament to the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

), a gold medal at the

1985 EuroBasket The 1985 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1985, was the 24th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 5 to 16 June 1985 in West Germany. The Soviet Union defeated Czec ...

, a silver medal at the 1986 FIBA World Cup, a silver medal at the 1987 EuroBasket, a gold medal at the

, a bronze medal at the 1989 EuroBasket, and a silver medal at the 1990 FIBA World Cup. He also played at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, as a member of the Unified Team). As a member of Russia's national team, he played at the 1998 FIBA World Cup, where he won a silver medal, and at the 1999 EuroBasket.Valeri Tikhonenko (RUS).
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Executive career

Tikhonenko became the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the Kazakh League club

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

, in 2011.

Personal life

Tikhonenko was a lieutenant colonel in the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

Orders won

* USSR Medal "For Distinguished Labour" * USSR Order of Friendship of Peoples * USSR Order of the Badge of Honor * Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1988) * Russian Order of Friendship

References

External links

FIBA Profile
*
Spanish League Profile

Spanish League Archive Profile

EuroLeague Coach ProfileТихонéнко
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tikhonenko, Valeri 1964 births Living people 1986 FIBA World Championship players 1990 FIBA World Championship players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball coaches of international teams Basketball executives Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics BC Arsenal Tula players BC Dynamo Moscow coaches BC Samara coaches BC Samara players CB Peñas Huesca players CB Valladolid players Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Liga ACB players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for the Soviet Union Olympic basketball players for the Unified Team Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball PBC CSKA Moscow coaches PBC CSKA Moscow players People from Angren, Uzbekistan Sportspeople from Tashkent Region Power forwards Russian basketball coaches Russian expatriate basketball people in Spain Russian men's basketball players Russian people of Uzbekistani descent Small forwards Soviet men's basketball players Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uzbekistani men's basketball players 20th-century Russian sportsmen