Which Country does Lauri Markkanen Play for?

Lauri Markkanen’s recent NBA season was nothing short of spectacular. Though he already was a top-performing athlete for his first five seasons, Lauri almost entirely transformed his game into becoming an offensive go-to and excellent shooter for the Utah Jazz. When retrospecting his career, his success as a professional player becomes evident. Markkanen arrived in the NBA after playing one season of College Basketball for the University of Arizona.

Lauri started in all 37 games and averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game. He shot 49% from the field and 42% from the three-point line. Lauri’s shooting accuracy was a rarity among the usual big men in College as most focused on playing defense and scoring inside the paint. Lauri moved fast on the court and played his game similar to a Shooting Guard.

For his performance and contributions to Arizona and the Pac-12 conference, he was selected into the 2017 All-Pac 12 Tourney, 2016-17 All-Pac-12, and the Pac-12 All-Freshman team alongside Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball.

However, for all his Basketball success on American soil, many tend to look over his National team career.

Lauri Markkanen National Team

National team Career (Junior)

Lauri plays for team Finland during international tournaments. Lauri’s National team career for Finland spans ten years, beginning in 2013. Lauri did not disappoint in his first outing as he put up 15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per contest in the FIBA U16 European Championship – Division B.

The next year, he played in the U18 European Championship – Division B for Finland and averaged 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.6 steals per game. Despite a rare average performance from Markkanen and the team, Finland secured the third spot.

At the 2015 U18 European Championship, Lauri was back to his top form, averaging 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 steals. Lauri led the tournament in points per game scoring and was among the top steals leaders as well.

Lauri’s excellence continued into the FIBA U20 European Championship. His 24.9 points per game scoring earned him the top-scorer achievement for the tournament. While Markkanen shined with his performance, Finland finished 15th in the final standings.

He finished his junior team career with an average of 15.9 points and six rebounds per game.

National Team Career (Senior)

Lauri’s first major tournament with the senior team was the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket. Lauri played 16 games, averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks.

Lauri’s second EuroBasket appearance proved more successful than the 2017 edition. Finland managed to enter the Quarter-Finals and 7th in the final rankings. Markkanen finished second on the top scorers list behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and ahead of Luka Doncic (4th) and Dennis Schroder (5th).

Lauri participated in the 2019 FIBA World Cup European qualifiers but his efforts couldn’t get Finland over the edge and into the World Cup. However, 2023 turned out to be a different story. Lauri’s 23 points, nine rebounds, and two steals per game combined with the collective team effort helped Finland finish on top in the second round. As a result, the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup will be Finland’s first trip to Basketball’s top global tournament.