Nationality Finnish Name Lauri Markkanen Position Power forward / Center | Listed weight 115.6 kg (255 lb) Listed height 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) | |
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High school Helsinki Basketball Academy(Helsinki, Finland) | ||
Lauri markkanen 2015 u18 european championship
Lauri Markkanen (born May 22, 1997) is a Finnish basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 2017 NBA draft, he was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 7th overall pick before being included in a trade to the Chicago Bulls for Jimmy Butler. He is the son of Finnish basketball players Pekka and Riikka Markkanen and brothers with the football player Eero Markkanen who plays in the German second-tier side Dynamo Dresden.
Contents
- Lauri markkanen 2015 u18 european championship
- Lauri markkanen signs with arizona
- Early life and career
- Arizona 20162017
- Professional career
- National team career
- Personal life
- References
Lauri markkanen signs with arizona
Early life and career
Markkanen grew up in Jyväskylä, and played his junior years in local team HoNsU. Markkanen played for HBA-Märsky in Finland from 2014 to 2016.
Arizona (2016–2017)
On October 17, 2015, Markkanen verbally committed to NCAA Division I squad Arizona Wildcats prior to the 2016–17 season. Lauri signed a letter to intent to Arizona on Nov. 11th. ESPN.com reported that the seven-foot Finn is considered "a possible one-and-done candidate for the NBA draft." He became the first player since Mike Bibby 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 Watchlist, Naismith Award Watchlist, Wooden Award Watchlist, Wooden Award Midseason Top 25, Wayman Tisdale Award Midseason watch list, Oscar Robertson Award Midseason watch list, Karl Malone Award Finalist, Naismith Top 30 Finalist. Markkanen was among the 15 finalist for the John R. Wooden Award.
He recorded a career high 30 points, 12 field goals made & 18 shot attempts on Jan. 12th against rival Arizona State. Also recording a career high 13 rebounds 3 times against Northern Colorado(11/21/17), Washington State(1/26/17) & Washington (2/18/17). His career high 3 blocks came against ASU in the regular season finale Mar. 4th, 2017.
Markkanen was selected to the third team All-American team in AP, NBC Sports, USA Today and Sporting News on March 6, 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 2017 NBA draft.
Professional career
Markkanen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh pick of the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. On draft night, his rights were traded to the Chicago Bulls along with Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn for Jimmy Butler and the rights to Justin Patton. On July 5, 2017, Markkanen signed with the Bulls.
National team career
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 tournament with average of 24.9 points per game.
Personal life
He is the son of Pekka, and Riikka Markkanen (née Ellonen), who both were professional basketball players, and has two brothers, Miikka and a professional soccer player, Eero, who plays for AIK.