Mar 14, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots a three point basket during the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Has Career-High Night Overseas

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 3:56 PM ET

Despite the Utah Jazz being smack-dab in the middle of their offseason with a couple of months to go before the next regular season gets underway, the work hasn't stopped for star forward Lauri Markkanen, who's currently overseas competing with Finland as a part of the 2025 EuroBasket tournament.

And during Markkanen's first game on the floor for Finland this summer, he wasted no time making his presence felt, as he came out with a career-high night within the national team's preparation game on Friday.

During his first outing, Markkanen finished with a career-high 48 points to help take down Belgium, good for his career-high playing for Finland, and the highest-point total in the country's history.

@MarkkanenLauri drops a national team career-high 48 PTS in @basketfinland's win in #EuroBasket preparation game! @UtahJazz | @NBA

Read more ⬇️
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 8, 2025

Sure, it's just an exhibition game in the grand scheme of the EuroBasket tournament, but to see Markkanen put together such a dominant night on the offensive end for nearly 50 points is nothing short of spectacular. At 48, it falls just one point shy of Markkanen's official NBA scoring record of 49 points during January of 2023, a night that finished with a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets.

Markkanen comes off his third year with the Jazz, a year in which he played in 47 games to average 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 42.3% shooting from the field. Some up and down numbers compared to his previous two years in Utah, paired with long spans of unavailability across the year,

But, as shown here, he clearly looks back he's back to his full strength, and perhaps even more energized from his last time on the floor.

Markkanen ERUPTS for 48 points against Belgium #EuroBasket
pic.twitter.com/wtoKckErMM
— ️verage Curry fan (@DunkedOnByCurry) August 8, 2025

It's far from the first time Markkanen has broken out on the international stage, as his stellar play was seen during 2022's EuroBasket that led to Finland's first-ever Quarter-Finals finish. That all came across the summer that Markkanen was a part of the Jazz following the Donovan Mitchell trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and might as well have been the catalyst that led to his eventual Most Improved Player win that season.

Perhaps now, this preliminary performance could be a sign of things to come for Markkanen heading into next season, but one can only dream.