Inside The Jazz

Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Has Highlight Poster in EuroBasket Win

The Utah Jazz forward had a major highlight in Finland's first official EuroBasket game.
Jared Koch|
Jan 7, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dunks the ball during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dunks the ball during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

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Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen suited up alongside Finland for their first official group stage game in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament vs. Sweden, where Markkanen led the way to a 1-0 start, winning 93-90.

In Finland's win, Markkanen finished leading the way in scoring with 28 points, pairing with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals while shooting 7/15 from the field, and 2/4 from three within 32 minutes.

In the process, Markkanen also hammered home a highlight dunk during the second quarter over Swedish guard Melwin Pantzar, putting an exclamation mark on a strong start to the official EuroBasket action.

It was a game in which Sweden actually remained relatively close in from start to finish. Finland entered the half narrowly ahead 49-48, and would be tied rolling into the fourth quarter, but Markkanen would help lead the way for Finland to be the one edging out a victory, starting their group stage on a high note.

It's been nothing short of a strong start for the Jazz star during his early showings overseas. While this is only the first of five group stage games, Markkanen has remained busy in the exhibition contests leading up to the tournament to put his name back on the map.

In those preliminary showings, he rattled off two 40-plus-point bombs, headlined by a Finnish national team-best of 48 points in a win vs. Belgium, also logging an undefeated 4-0 start. Now with a win over Sweden in the books, the unofficial tally rises to 5-0 for Markkanen and Co.

Mar 17, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dunks the ball during the first quarter agai
Mar 17, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

And from the Jazz's perspective, you'd have to think his recent sample size overseas is a sign of good things to come for what'll be his fourth season in Utah.

The last time Markkanen was putting together dominant showings in the EuroBasket tournament came within the summer of 2022, inevitably the prelude to his breakout season with the Jazz to claim the NBA's Most Improved Player award. Perhaps this summer's output can be a sign of things to come for next season.

Markkanen and Finland will continue their EuroBasket action with four games to go in the group stage, holding hopes to keep the winning streak going and climb the ladder to make the Round of 16 for a second-straight tournament.

Their next matchup lies on Friday, August 29th against Great Britain, tipping off at 11:30 AM MT.

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Jared Koch
JARED KOCH

Jared Koch is the deputy editor of Utah Jazz On SI. He's covered the NBA and NFL for the past two years, contributing to Denver Broncos On SI, Indianapolis Colts On SI, and Sacramento Kings On SI. He has covered multiple NBA and NFL events on site, and his works have also appeared on Bleacher Report, MSN, and Yahoo.

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