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

Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Shines Again on International Stage

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 1:42 PM ET

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen has been hitting the ground running during the first two games of his EuroBasket preparation stretch, having yet another standout performance in the books to lead the way for Finland once again.

In what was Finland's second preparation game before the real action gets underway in a few weeks, Markkanen stood out with an impressive 31-point performance, making for his second 30-plus point game in two tries, and leading the way to a dominating 92-74 win over Belgium, going 2-0 in their exhibition stretch so far– both being against Belgium.

Another day at the office for Lauri who drops 31 PTS in Finland’s #EuroBasket preparation game against Belgium! pic.twitter.com/Yy7BuNjt6S
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 11, 2025

Additionally, for Finland, it was their 500th international win in the country's history, putting a major exclamation mark on Markkanen's second impressive performance.

Markkanen's 31-point outing directly follows his previously eye-catching 48-point performance from their debut in this year's tournament against Belgium, one that also resulted in a dominating victory with the help of Markkanen, 105-62.

It's far from the first time Markkanen has come to dominate on the EuroBasket stage for Finland, as it was also in 2022 that the Jazz star would arrive on the scene as an electric scorer in the frontcourt, inevitably leading Finland to their highest finish in the EuroBasket tournament throughout their country's history. He would then follow that up by putting together a career year for his first season in Salt Lake City, taking home the NBA's Most Improved Player award in 2023.

So, to see Markkanen back in the groove and dominating overseas could be a great sign for what Jazz fans could expect for what will be his fourth season in Utah for the 2025-26 campaign. Coming off a year that was filled with injury and some of the lowest counting stats since arriving in Salt Lake City, it seems he's put these lapses behind him in Finland, looking closer to the All-Star talent Utah had on the floor only three seasons ago.

Markkanen and Finland will get the group stage of the tournament going later this month, kicking off their EuroBasket run with a meeting against Sweden on August 27th. Though in the meantime, they'll have another preparation game in their sights come Thursday, when they'll be up against Poland, attempting to make it three-straight wins in the books.