Oct 29, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen Talks EuroBasket Outlook

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 10:32 AM ET

This coming week, Utah Jazz forward and Finnish star Lauri Markkanen will be taking center stage in the EuroBasket tournament for the Finland national team following a dominant slate of games in the preparation stage.

During those preparation games, Markkanen averaged a strong 31.7 points a night, paired with two impressive 40-plus-point showings that led Finland to an undefeated 4-0 start in those preparation games ahead of the real action.

It's been about as strong a start as you could ask of the Finnisher, and for Markkanen, it al l starts with showing out for his country on the national stage.

"Playing for your country and playing for your national team is an unreal feeling," Markkanen said in an interview with John Hobbs. "It's not like anything else. You always take a lot of pride playing for your country, and it's the best thing ever... It's going to be an awesome week in Finland for sure."

Last time Markkanen took the floor in the tournament, it came right before his 2023 Most Improved Player campaign, as he led Finland to its first quarterfinals appearance in 55 years, while also setting the record for most points scored in a EuroBasket game with a 43-point performance against Croatia

This go around, for what will be his third stint playing in the EuroBas ket for Finland, he'll be looking to take this group even higher.

"You can't be expecting this opportunity to come along a second time," Markkanen said. "So, you try to take full advantage of the opportunity that we have right now and keep reminding yourself that this might not come along again. So, we try to get everything out of it."

In terms of what Markkanen likes from this Finland team, it centers on versatility. The Jazz forward may be the only NBA representation aboard the roster, but with three starters next to him in Olivier Nkamhoua, Mikael Jantunen, and Elias Valtonen, all standing at 6-foot-7 and above, they certainly have the size to match up with many teams.

"I would say the biggest strength of our team is the versatility," Markkanen says of Finland. "We have a lot of big guys who can play in different positions, but also guards that can do multiple different things. And, like I said, just we've spent so much time together, and I think that's going to be a strength."

But it all starts with the group stage. While Markkanen already began his summer overseas on fire during the preliminary stage, he knows that during the next step of this tournament, anybody can beat anybody.

"There's a lot of good teams in the tournament obviously, [but] I'm not even looking to the Round of 16 yet," Markkanen said. "We're worried about the Group Phase. And every team is capable of beating anybody on any day. So, we have to go day by day, and Sweden is obviously a good team. "We start with them, and it's always a battle with us. So, I would say, Sweden is our first big opponent."

Finland and Markkanen will kick off their group contests with their meeting against Sweden, slated for Tuesday, August 26th.