Ishchenko is selected on the NBA draft!

Lokomotiv Kuban guard Vsevolod Ishchenko was selected 56th overall in the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

This is the first time in 13 years that a player from a Russian league has been selected in the NBA draft–in 2013, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Sergey Karasev.

Fun fact: another Russian, Alexander Kaun, who later became an NBA champion, was selected with the same pick, 56th, as Ishchenko in 2008.

Vsevolod joined Lokomotiv at age 15 and rose from the Academy youth teams to the main team. He played 48 games in the 2025/26 VTB United League, averaging 8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 23.5 minutes per game.

My heartfelt congratulations to Vsevolod Ishchenko! Our alumnus is heading off to conquer the best basketball league in the world, having completed all stages of training within the Lokomotiv Kuban system. In the 2025/26 season, Vsevolod proved himself to be a true leader and helped the club take home bronze medals in the VTB United League, becoming a key player on the team. I'm glad that the alumnus of the Lokomotiv Academy is realizing his dream. Seva's decision to try his hand at the draft and then sign with the Dallas Mavericks is the result of hard work and a major and important step not only for Kuban but for all of Russian basketball. I hope Seva proves himself worthy of a spot on the main team roster at Dallas's summer training camp. Lokomotiv will remain his home, and its doors are always open to him. Whatever the scenario, we'll be happy to have him on our team. We wish Vsevolod good luck, many exciting moments overseas, and victories in the next chapter of his career – the NBA!

Andrey Vedishchev, the president of Lokomotiv Kuban PBC