Lauri Elias Markkanen (born 22 May 1997) is a Finnish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). In the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, he was taken by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

with the seventh overall pick before being included in a trade to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

for

Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA Team honore ...

. Nicknamed "The Finnisher", he is the son of Finnish basketball players Pekka and Riikka Markkanen, and the younger brother of footballer Eero Markkanen.

Early life and career

Markkanen grew up in

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

, and played his junior years in the local team, HoNsU. Markkanen played for HBA-Märsky in the Finnish second-tier league from 2014 to 2016.

College career

On 17 October 2015, Markkanen verbally committed to NCAA Division I squad Arizona Wildcats prior to the 2016–17 season. Lauri signed a letter of intent to Arizona on 11 November. ESPN.com reported that the seven-foot Finn was considered "a possible one-and-done candidate for the NBA draft." He became the first player since

Mike Bibby Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the head coach for Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, ...

to wear the jersey number 10. In January 2017, '' SB Nation'' regarded him as "the best shooting 7-footer college basketball has ever seen". Within the same month Markkanen was selected as Pac-12 Player of the Week as well as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week. He has also been named to the pre-season

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded ...

Watchlist,

Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of t ...

Watchlist,

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

Watchlist, Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, Wayman Tisdale Award Midseason watch list,

Oscar Robertson Award The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the outstanding men's college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The trophy is considered to be the oldest of its kind and has been given out since 19 ...

Midseason watch list,

Finalist, Naismith Top 30 Finalist. Markkanen was among the 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award. He recorded a career-high 30 points on 12 Jan against rival

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. Also recording a career-high 13 rebounds three times against

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. His career-high three blocks came against Arizona State in the regular season finale 4 March 2017. Markkanen was selected to the third team All-American team by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, NBC Sports, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'', and the '' Sporting News'' on 6 March 2017. He was a first team All-Pac-12 selection, as well as first team All-Pac-12 Freshman team and first team All-Pac-12 team in Associated Press. At the conclusion of his freshman season, Markkanen announced his intention to forgo his final three years of collegiate eligibility and enter the

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (2017–2021)

Markkanen was drafted by the

with the seventh pick of the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. On draft night, his rights were traded to the

along with

Zach LaVine Zachary Thomas LaVine ( ; born March 10, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick ...

and Kris Dunn for

and the rights to Justin Patton. On 5 July 2017, Markkanen signed with the Bulls. On 19 October 2017, Markkanen made his NBA debut with the Bulls and scored 17 points. Markkanen then set an NBA record on 24 October, for most 3-pointers in the first three games of an NBA career with ten 3-pointers. Markkanen also asked former NBA player

Brian Scalabrine Brian David Scalabrine (born March 18, 1978), nicknamed the "White Mamba", is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a television analyst for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is als ...

to use his number 24, which Brian allowed. On 30 December, Markkanen scored a career-high 32 points and seven rebounds in a 119–107 win against the Indiana Pacers. On 10 January 2018, Markkanen played a career high 46 minutes, scored a career-high 33 points along with a career-high eight 3-pointers in a double overtime 122–119 win against the New York Knicks. This made him the second seven-foot player to make eight three-pointers in a game (the first being

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

). On 22 January, he grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds against the New Orleans Pelicans. Four days later, Markkanen blocked a career-high three shots against the Los Angeles Lakers. After scoring seventeen points against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

on 28 January 2018, Markkanen surpassed Hanno Möttölä (715) as the career leading scorer among NBA players from Finland. On 22 May 2018, he was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

. He ended his rookie season leading the Bulls in rebounds with 7.5 and fourth in scoring with 15.2; his 14 double-doubles was third among rookies behind

Kyle Kuzma Kyle Alexander Kuzma (born July 24, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Utah Utes and was named first-team all-confere ...

and Ben Simmons. Markkanen missed the first 23 games of the season. He had a career-high 19 rebounds in a loss to the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

on 28 January. He also had 31 points and 18 rebounds in a win over Brooklyn on 8 February; a career-high 35 points along with 15 rebounds in a win over the Boston Celtics on 23 February; and 31 points and 17 rebounds in win over 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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

on 1 March. On 28 March, Markkanen was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing tests for his health problems, which he experienced in a 26 March game against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. In the 52 games he did play, he was second on the team with 18.7 points and first with 9.0 rebounds and 20 double-doubles (fourth in the NBA). Markkanen began the season tying a career-high with 35 points along with 17 rebounds in a one-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the most opening-day points by a Chicago Bull since Michael Jordan in 1995. On 30 January 2021, Markkanen scored a season-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from three in a 123–122 loss to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. After the Bulls added veteran big men

Daniel Theis Daniel Theis (born April 4, 1992) is a German professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After seven seasons in the Basketball Bundesliga where he was a four-time All Star and three-time ch ...

and

Nikola Vučević Nikola Vučević (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Вучевић, ; born 24 October 1990) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC ...

to their roster to fortify their frontcourt, Markkanen lost his starting spot. On 29 March, Markkanen came off the bench for the first time during the season and the second in his 194 career games, he finished with 13 points, six rebounds and an assist across 22 minutes in a 116–102 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Since Markkanen moved to the second unit, he has been given a limited time and has been playing the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

position. In a game against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

on 12 April, Markkanen went scoreless for the first time in his career.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2021–2022)

On 28 August 2021, Markkanen was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team sign-and-trade also involving the

Utah Jazz (2022–present)

On 1 September 2022, Markkanen was traded to the

along with

Ochai Agbaji Ochai Young Agbaji (born April 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a senior at the University of Kansas, Agbaji was named a consensus first-team All-American ...

, Collin Sexton, three first round picks, and two pick swaps in exchange for

Donovan Mitchell Donovan Mitchell Jr. (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Spida", he was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft w ...

. On November 18, Markkanen scored a career-high 38 points on 15-of-18 shooting from the field, in a 134–133 win over the Phoenix Suns. On 22 December 2022 Markkanen set a career-high with nine three-pointers on 13 attempts while also tying his career high 38 points in a 126-111 win over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

National team career

Junior national team

Markkanen made his international debut with the Finnish U-18 national team at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Markkanen averaged 18.2 points per game to lead the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in the summer of 2015. He was the top scorer in

2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2016 FIBA U20 European Championship was the 19th edition of the FIBA U20 European Championship. The competition took place in Helsinki, Finland, from 16 to 24 July 2016. Participating teams * * * (Winners, 2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Champi ...

tournament with an average of 24.9 points per game and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Senior national team

Markkanen played with the Finland senior team at

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, which was partly held in his home country. He led his team to the round of 16 by averaging 19.5 points and 5.7 rebounds over 6 games. He played his second EuroBasket tournament in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

. In the Round of 16, Markkanen scored 43 points to lead Finland to a 94–86 win over

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, setting a new all-time record for a Finnish player at the EuroBasket. The win also lead to Finland's first quarterfinal appearance in 55 years, the last being in 1967. Finland lost in the following quarterfinals to Spain. Markkanen averaged 27.9 points on 54.2 percent shooting, and eight rebounds over seven games.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 68 , , 68 , , 29.7 , , .434 , , .362 , , .843 , , 7.5 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .6 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 52 , , 51 , , 32.3 , , .430 , , .361 , , .872 , , 9.0 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 50 , , 50 , , 29.8 , , .425 , , .344 , , .824 , , 6.3 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 51 , , 26 , , 25.8 , , .480 , , .402 , , .826 , , 5.3 , , .9 , , .5 , , .3 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 61 , , 61 , , 30.8 , , .445 , , .358 , , .868 , , 5.7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , 14.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 282 , , 256 , , 29.7 , , .441 , , .364 , , .850 , , 6.8 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , 15.4

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, 37 , , 37 , , 30.8 , , .492 , , .423 , , .835 , , 7.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , .5 , , 15.6

NBA records

* Fastest player to reach 100 career three-pointers (41 games)

Personal life

He is the son of Pekka and Riikka Markkanen (née Ellonen), who both were professional basketball players, and has two brothers, former professional basketball player Miikka and professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Eero Eero is an Estonian and Finnish masculine given name (pronounced: /e:ro/). Notable people with the name include: * Eero Aarnio (born 1932), Finnish interior designer * Eero Aho (born 1968), Finnish actor * Eero Akaan-Penttilä (born 1943), ...

. In February 2018, Markkanen and his wife Verna Aho had a son together. In October 2020, their second child was born.

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markkanen, Lauri 1997 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players Cleveland Cavaliers players Finnish expatriate basketball people in the United States Finnish men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Jyväskylä Utah Jazz players