Born in Cherkasy, Ukraine, Mykhailiuk's mother, Inna, is a high school biology teacher, and his father, Iurri, is a college history professor. He attended high school at Cherkasy First City Gymnasia. Svi played for his club team as a teenager, but wanted to attend college in the United States to further develop his game.
College career
Mykhailiuk received offers from Virginia, Iowa State, Oregon, and Kansas. On May 21, 2014, Mykhailiuk committed to play basketball at the University of Kansas and played for the team during their 2014–2015 season. During his freshman season, he started five of the first seven games of the season, averaging 21.3 minutes a game, but his playing time since then was significantly curtailed. He scored 11 points while playing 32 minutes in the Orlando Classic Championship game against Michigan State on November 30, 2014. He was the youngest player in Big 12 Conference history at 17 years old. Returning to Kansas in his sophomore year, Mykhailiuk averaged 5.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game in 35 games of the 2015-2016 basketball season while hitting 40.2% of his three-point shots. On November 23, 2015, Mykhailiuk scored 18 points against Chaminade. In the first round of the 2016 NCAA basketball tourney, on March 17, 2016, Mykhailiuk scored 23 points, setting his personal college career scoring record, with 9 of 11 field goals and 4 of 5 threes against the Austin Peay. Mykhailiuk returned to Kansas for his junior year of college. On December 22, 2016, in a game against UNLV Mykhailiuk scored 20 points with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, helping KU to a 71-53 win. In the UNLV game, Mykhailiuk made 4 of 6 three point attempts. In the 2016-2017 season, Mykhailiuk has averaged 10.6 points a game, 3.5 rebounds a game, and 1.6 assists per game, while shooting 41.5% from three point territory. On April 12, 2017, Mykhailiuk decided to enter the 2017 NBA Draft, but did not hire an agent, allowing him to return for his senior year. Mykhailiuk opted to return to Kansas for the 2017-2018 season. On November 17, 2017, Mykhailiuk scored a career high 27 points in a game against San Diego State. He set a school record for 3–pointers made in a season during the Jayhawks 2017–18 season with 115.
Professional career
Cherkaski Mavpy
Prior to playing at Kansas, Mykhailiuk played professionally for Cherkaski Mavpy, his hometown club team, in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague from 2012 to 2014.
Los Angeles Lakers (2018–2019)
On June 21, 2018, Mykhailiuk was selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. On July 10, he signed a three-year, $4.6 million rookie scale contract with the Lakers.
Detroit Pistons (2019–present)
On February 6, 2019, Mykhailiuk was traded to the Detroit Pistons, along with a future second-round draft pick, in exchange for Reggie Bullock.
In the summer of 2013, Mykhailiuk played with the Ukrainian Under-16 junior national team in the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He was selected to the All-Tournament Team, after completing an outstanding championship, averaging 25.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Mykhailiuk played for the Ukrainian under-20 junior national team in the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in Helsinki. During the tournament, Mykhailiuk led his team in scoring, at 14.9 points per game, in seven tourney games. He hit 36.8% of his floor shots. Mykhailiuk shot 47.2% from two and 19% from three point territory. He made 85.7% of his free throws and also grabbed 5.6 rebounds a game, with 2.7 assists and 4.7 turnovers, and with 2.1 steals per game. He played for the Ukrainian under-20 team again in the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he was the leading scorer of the tournament, averaging 20.4 points per game.
