Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen
	Markkanen with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021
No. 23 – Utah Jazz
Position	Small forward / power forward
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	May 22, 1997 (age 27); Vantaa, Finland
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school	Helsinki Basketball Academy; (Helsinki, Finland)
College	Arizona (2016–2017)
NBA draft	2017: 1st round, 7th overall pick
	Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career	2014–present
Career history
2014-2016	HBA-Märsky
2017–2021	Chicago Bulls
2021–2022	Cleveland Cavaliers
2022–present	Utah Jazz
Career highlights and awards
	NBA All-Star (2023); NBA Most Improved Player (2023); NBA All-Rookie First Team (2018); Finnish Athlete of the Year (2023); 7× Finnish Player of the Year (2017–2023); Third-team All-American – AP, NABC, SN (2017); First-team All-Pac-12 (2017); Pac-12 All-Freshman team (2017); FIBA U20 EuroBasket top scorer (2016); FIBA U18 EuroBasket top scorer (2015); FIBA U20 EuroBasket All-Tournament Team (2016);
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Lauri Elias Markkanen (/ˈlaʊri ˈmɑːrkənɛn/ LAO-ree MAR-kə-nen; born 22 May 1997) is a Finnish professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and for the Finland national team. Nicknamed "the Finnisher",^[1] he is the son of Finnish basketball players Pekka and Riikka Markkanen, and the younger brother of footballer Eero Markkanen.

Starting his career with HBA-Märsky in the Finnish second-tier league, Markkanen moved to the United States and played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, where he earned First-team All-Pac-12 honors in his lone year with the team. He was selected seventh overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before being included in a draft-night trade to the Chicago Bulls for Jimmy Butler. Following a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Markkanen experienced a career resurgence in his first year with the Jazz, earning his first All-Star selection and winning the Most Improved Player Award in 2023.

Markkanen was named the Finnish Athlete of the Year in 2023, as the first basketball player ever to win the award.^[2]^[3]