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Lauri Markkanen – Photo Credit: Ville Vuorinen\/Susijengi<\/p><\/div>
\nAt the end of June, the forward joined Finland for the World Cup Qualifiers which was the first time in a while that he had done so and in fact one of those games came right down to the wire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was four years since I last represented Team Finland so I had some jitters before my first game against Sweden in front of packed home arena, but I found my rhythm after first quarter. Obviously, both midsummer victories were tremendously important. The win against Croatia showed our character as a team, being able to claw back from eight-point deficit in last two minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are many FIBA windows throughout the season for both World Cup and Eurobasket qualification. Due to Markannen playing in the NBA he has missed many, many games but that doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t be cheering for his teammates halfway around the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole FIBA window thing is a question of politics and I try not to go too deep into that. I play for Susijengi whenever I have to opportunity to do that and when I\u2019m away from the team, I know for sure that all the guys are working their tails off.\u201d
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Deni Avdija – Photo Credit: Dov Halickman<\/p><\/div>
\nMarkannen and Israeli star Deni Avdija are similar in the fact that they are the lone NBA players on their respective national team squads. But that doesn\u2019t mean that he is an individual trying to play with teammates who are not at the same skill level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Susijengi, we play as a team. We really enjoy playing together and being around each other. We all want to complement each other and when I wear that Finland jersey, I don\u2019t think about the NBA. I try to bring to the table whatever my teammates and our coaches want me to bring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finland\u2019s head coach Lassi Tuovi is relatively young very at the tender age of 35 years old. While he has a very prominent role, Tuovi has been coaching for many years and brings a tremendous amount of know how to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cLassi has been a part of Susijengi\u2019s coaching staff for like ten years now and he has been very vocal in practices and games for as long as I have been in Susijengi. He\u2019s a very smart and a very precise coach, demands a lot from himself and others and is an excellent communicator and very knowledgeable in the game of basketball.\u201d
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-4-1.jpg\")
Lauri Markannen – Photo Credit: FIBA<\/p><\/div>
\nThe Eurobasket group which Finland and Israel play in is no doubt a tough in Prague where there is a loaded Serbian team led by Nikola Jokic, a tough Poland team, the hosts Czechia as well as Holland. Markannen looked at what Finland will need to do in order to advance to the next stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a tough group but we all like challenges. There\u2019s nothing better than the possibility to play against the very best and it\u2019s been five years since the last EuroBasket so we\u2019re really looking forward to the possibility. While we prepare for all the opponents, the most important thing to do is play and perform as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in 2017, both Markannen and Finland had an excellent group stage, however, the knockout game against Italy was an entirely different story as the Cavs forward only scored 4 points in a disappointing 70-57 loss. <\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally, everybody in the team was disappointed about the loss in Istanbul but it\u2019s been many years now and we have developed quite a lot as individual players and as a team since then.\u201d
\nThe upcoming Eurobasket is an important one especially for the future of Finnish basketball as the federation is trying to make a mark on with the youth especially due to the fact that Markannen plays in the NBA.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-7-1.jpg\")
Lauri Markannen – Photo Credit: FIBA<\/p><\/div>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be huge. Like I said, five years since the last games and with Covid and everything else looming in the background, it\u2019s great to be able to play and perform again. Our team is younger than five years ago and this will be the first big international competition for many of us, so it\u2019s a good stepping stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinnish basketball has developed a lot within few years. Obviously, I mostly see that around national team with all the up-and-coming young players stepping into Susijengi practice and giving us older guys a run for our money. Personally, I consider it a privilege to be able to impact kids and junior players on this level and it feels good to be around them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Markannen grew up in Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 and was surrounded by a basketball loving family, \u201cMy mom and dad both were basketball players, as were my two older brothers. I just kind of jumped in the bandwagon. There was a lot of snow in Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 during wintertime, but I just shoveled the snow away and put on my winter coat and mittens and shot the ball in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NBA of course was a dream as Markannen moved up the ranks but it was only once he moved to the United States to play college ball at Arizona that he saw the possibility of becoming a professional as a reality.
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/maxresdefault.jpg\")
Lauri Markannen – Photo Credit: Youtube<\/p><\/div>
\nWith the Wildcats in 2016\/17 and under the tutelage of head coach Sean Miller, Markannen was able to put up impressive stats in his only college season with 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, \u201cMy lone year with the Wildcats was a terrific experience and I will always cherish the memories from that season.\u201d<\/p>\n
On draft night in 2017, Markannen was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves but was quickly shipped out to the Chicago Bulls with Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton as the Finn began a four year stint in the Windy City.<\/p>\n
\u201cDraft night was like a blur. I had awaited that night for such a long time and then it was, like, over. It was a dream come true for a young kid from Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4, Finland.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the four years with Chicago, Markannen was named to the 2018 All-Rookie Team and put up very good numbers with 15 points and 7 rebounds a game while shooting 7% from deep. However, the Bulls struggled and could never really get out of first gear during that time while also going through a number of coaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think things went wrong with me and the Bulls. I had my moments with the Bulls but we weren\u2019t really able to pull everything together as a team, considering playoffs. Since we\u2019re talking about pro sports, the new front office felt they had to make some changes.\u201d
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Lauri_Markkanen_Cavaliers_vs_Rockets_on_December_15_2021_cropped.jpg\")
Lauri Markannen – Photo Credit: Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>
\nMarkannen was shipped out to Cleveland for this past 2021\/22 season and helped the Cavaliers to a solid season while just missing out on the playoffs. The forward looked rejuvenated around a young team with a number of up and coming players and being a leader at the tender age of 25.<\/p>\n
We really liked being around each other. We loved J.B.\u2019s (coach Bickerstaff) system and had that youthful energy and once we began taking wins, we understood we could really make some noise in the league. If it wasn\u2019t for all the injuries, I believe we had the possibility to go deep in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of struck me at some point when I was the oldest guy in our starting line-up. Evan and Darius are both crazy talented guys and I think we really supported each other throughout the season.\u201d
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-5.jpg\")
Lauri Markannen – Photo Credit: FIBA<\/p><\/div>
\nWhile the Cavs are a developing team, there were two crucial veterans in Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio until he went down with an injury who really aided to steer the club all season long, Markannen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjuries are part of the game and as athletes, we just try to stay in the present and look forward. Both Kevin and Ricky were huge for us. It was so great to see veterans such as them play so inspired basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleveland will now look to take that next step and find a way into the postseason as a team that has gained the experience and know how needed to do just that Markannen explained, \u201cWith Collin Sexton healthy and Ricky coming back, we are one year older and wiser. We can take what we had last season and improve from that and build that collective confidence one practice, one game at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Eurobasket is arguably the best 3-week basketball tournament in the world with the top teams from around Europe competing against each other for the continental crown. Add to that the dozens upon dozens of NBA players and you get one fantastic competition that will span four countries, Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy and Germany for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":64163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[448,795,855,5189,5190,48],"class_list":["post-63643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-land-hoops","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-eurobasket","tag-finland","tag-lauri-markannen","tag-nba","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n