Grigorij Khizhnyak (alternate spelling: Grygorii Khizhniak, ; July 16, 1974 – October 5, 2018) was a Ukrainian professional basketball player. Standing at a height of , he played at the center position. He was the EuroLeague's leader in blocked shots in two consecutive seasons, in 2000–01 and 2001–02.
Professional career Khizhnyak, who was a dominant defensive force in the paint, led the EuroLeague in blocks per game for two consecutive years (2001, 2002), while playing with the Lithuanian League club Žalgiris Kaunas. Among his greatest career achievements, was his participation in the ULEB Cup (EuroCup)'s 2005 Final, while he was a member of the Greek League club Makedonikos.
National team career Khizhnyak was a regular member of the senior men's Ukrainian national basketball team. With Ukraine, he played at the 1997 EuroBasket, and the 2003 EuroBasket.
Death Khizhnyak died of a heart attack on 5 October, 2018, at the age of 44.Euroleague Basketball mourns Khizhnyak.Grigorij Khizhnyak passed away at age 44.
EuroLeague career statistics
Led the league
| style="text-align:left;"|2000–01 | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|Žalgiris Kaunas | 12 || 12 || 29.8 || .539 || .000 || .840 || 7.2 || .8 || .7 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|3.2 || 12.1 || 18.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2001–02 | 14 || 14 || 32.2 || .508 || .333 || .888 || 8.1 || 1.4 || .9 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|3.2 || 14.4 || 21.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 26 || 26 || 31.1 || .520 || .167 || .865 || 7.7 || 1.2 || .8 || 3.2 || 13.3 || 20.3
References
External links FIBA Archive Profile Euroleague.net Profile Spanish League Archive Profile