Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Shares One Massive Offseason Goal

While a lot of the discussion on the Utah Jazz's development and progression centers around their young talent and recent draftees, that doesn't mean the veteran pieces on this roster won't be eyeing their own set of improvements to make across the off-months of this summer.

Lauri Markkanen is no exception, who comes off his third year with the Jazz during his age-27 season, and has proven in past offseason periods of his career that a strong leap for his game in the summer is wildly possible, as shown during his 2023 Most Improved Player campaign after bursting onto the scene after his stint with the Finland national team.

Looking ahead to the coming offseason, Markkanen will be looking to make another jump in his game. This time, that progression will focus on his shot-creating ability, end-game shot-making, and in his own words, he'll still look to "work on everything."

"Just keep getting better at the end-of-game and isolation stuff," Markkanen said. "I know it's going to come down to that. It's the same answer every year: work on everything. Tighten the handle up a little better, and again, getting [further] out of my comfort zone with shots. I feel like I shot a lot of tougher shots than I've done in the past. The window's kind of smaller, everybody knows you can shoot. Doing that off the dribble and stuff like that, those are the big things I'll be working on."