Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Shockingly Snubbed Among Top EuroBasket Players

The 2025 EuroBasket tournament will officially be set to tip off later next week, giving fans a taste of some high-end, competitive basketball for the first time since the Finals, and a look at some of the NBA's top international stars on the world stage.

It's also a chance for Utah Jazz fans to see a glimpse of their star forward Lauri Markkanen, who heads into this year's tournament looking to duplicate some of the dominance he had seen during the 2022 slate ahead of his Most Improved Player campaign, and has already made his presence felt while averaging an astounding 40.3 points a night through the EuroBasket preparation games.

But even with those impressive showings in the books, and being one of the better offensive talents in the NBA when healthy, it didn't stop ESPN from dishing out new levels of disrespect towards the Jazz star in their latest EuroBasket rankings.

ESPN's Neil Payne recently broke down the top ten players in this year's EuroBasket, using advanced stats and projections for next season to determine the best in the field.

When it came to Markkanen, he didn't just see a low ranking; he didn't even appear amongst the top 10.

Atop the list were some familiar and expected names: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic rounded out the top three, and there's not much debate there when it comes to outlining the best three names in the pool.

Right below those three were Franz Wagner, Alperen Sengun, and Kristaps Porzingis at four, five and six, respectively. Again, all talented names and realistic candidates to be ranked ahead of Markkanen, even though the Jazz star may have a better case against this trio than the previous one. Deni Avdija ranked seventh, who comes off a career year with the Portland Trail Blazers, so there's at least a conversation to be had there, as well.

But below those seven is where the list gets unhinged: Santi Aldama, Neemis Queta, and Nikola Jovic were the final three to round out this ten; all ranked ahead of Lauri Markkanen, two years removed from an All-Star appearance in the Western Conference.

Dec 13, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) reacts to a foul call against the Phoenix Suns during the first quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Maybe ESPN just totally forgot about Markkanen. Maybe they have a vendetta against him or something similar. But to claim Markkanen isn't among the top 10 NBA talents in this year's EuroBasket would be absurd.

It goes without saying that his offensive arsenal and versatility stand as some of the best in this year's playing field, and by averaging over 40 points a game, he's made that abundantly clear. Even while suffering from a down season in Utah last season in an injury-battled, up-and-down campaign, it's hard to find a reasonable and rational case to elevate guys like Queta and Jovic ahead of him.

Simply, it now leans on Markkanen to silence the disrespect once the group stage in this year's tournament officially gets rolling, and perhaps even lift Finland to even higher heights than their historic 2022 finish.

The EuroBasket tournament will take place from August 27th to September 14th.

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