Laurie Markkanen blocked Franz Wagner’s three-pointer, allowing the Magic to win at the end
Hopes of a 5-second equalizer were dashed.
There was no smile on Markkanen’s face when the camera was shown.
This is not a game that can make Markkanen particularly satisfied. The Jazz almost capsized in the gutter. He himself only made 4 of 13 shots in the sports game and made 5 turnovers. Among them, he made 0 of 5 shots in the last three quarters.
However, it is precisely this game that can prove Markkanen’s evolution.
Markkanen can win a lot of free throws by making kills when he feels bad, and he is not afraid of the opponent’s name on the defensive end. Now he has a huge change from the previous image of “weak and high fort”.
This season, the tougher Markkanen averaged 24.6 points per game, shooting 52% from the field and 41.4% from the three-point range. He averaged 5.8 free throws per game, all of which are career highs.
In the sixth year of his career, Markkanen has finally become the core of the team’s offense. He is moving towards the Most Improved Player Award and his first All-Star.
Finland, a small Nordic country with a population of 5.5 million, sent only two players to the NBA before 2017.
The most popular sport in Finland is ice hockey. According to data from February 2022, there were 47 Finnish players in the NHL this season.
In Major League Hockey, Finland ranks fourth in the number of players, after Canada, the United States and Sweden.
Markkanen did not choose ice hockey like most children in Finland. Because of his family, Markkanen first came into contact with basketball.
Markkanen was born in a sports family. His father, Pekka, is 2.08 meters tall. In the 1989-90 season, he played for a season at the NCAA giants University of Kansas and served as the starting center. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1
Secondary cover data.
Markkanen’s mother used to be a member of the national team and entered the Helsinki Basketball Academy after retiring.
Although Markkanen’s elder brother Airo did not choose basketball, he became a well-known figure in Finnish football and once joined the Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Markkanen showed his basketball talent very early, and the Finnish Basketball Association invested a lot of resources to polish this piece of jade.
The Finnish Basketball Association rented an apartment in Helsinki for the mother and son of Markkanen, and then found Hanno Mottola, who was a coach at the Helsinki Basketball Academy at the time, to bring Markkanen.
Mottola has a lot of background. He is the first player in Finnish history to be selected by the NBA. In 2000, he was selected by the Eagles with the 40th overall pick. He played in the NBA for two seasons and then left.
During the years of honing his skills at the Helsinki Basketball Academy, Markkanen was very lucky. Mottola and Henrik Dietman, who had coached Dirk Nowitzki from 1997 to 2003, taught Markkanen hand in hand.
Before that, Markkanen would only float outside and shoot, and that experience taught him to learn both inside and outside.
In 2015, Markkanen flew to New York to participate in the Basketball Without Borders event, showing Americans his talent.
In the same year, Markkanen averaged 18.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in the U18 European Championship.
In the 2016 U20 European Championship, Markkanen averaged 24.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
This piece of jade could not be hidden anymore, and Mottola began to receive consultation calls from major schools in the United States.
Sean Miller, head coach of the University of Arizona, knew that recruiting was all about speed, so he flew directly to Helsinki, treated Markkanen to a big meal, and recruited the talented star.
Soon, Markkanen rejected the invitations of the University of North Carolina and the University of Utah, and chose to join Arizona.
You know, the University of Utah is still Mottola’s alma mater, but Markkanen still didn’t give his teacher face.
Markkanen only played in Arizona for one year, but this year allowed him to adapt to the playing style and intensity of American basketball. He followed the physical coach to gradually increase his muscles, and at the same time he was also practicing ball-handling skills and inside offense.
Markkanen averaged 15.6 points per game in a single season and shot 42.3% from three-point range. The American media called him “the best 7-foot shooter in the history of college basketball.”
Markkanen is very grateful: “Coach Miller and the entire coaching staff have helped me a lot. This year, my defense has improved a lot. I have become more mature and mentally more tenacious.”
In the 2017 draft, Markkanen became the No. 7 pick.
However, he was immediately sent to the Bulls by the Timberwolves.
In the Bulls, Markkanen quickly realized his talent, averaging 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his rookie season, and LeBron James praised him.
Many people compare Markkanen with Nowitzki. The Mavericks, who held the No. 9 pick in the 2017 draft, also tried Markkanen. Carlisle admitted that he saw some of Nowitzki in Markkanen.
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Nowitzki himself said: “This kid is really good. I didn’t expect his athletic ability to be so strong. Shooting is easy for him. His feet move quickly. His upper limit is the same as that of Porzingis.
same height.”
Markkanen averaged 18.7 points and 9 rebounds per game in the second season, but in the subsequent 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, Markkanen’s data continued to decline.
Markkanen’s decline is caused by many reasons. The first is the confusion of the Bulls. Markkanen has worked with 3 coaches in 4 years.
The second is the change of roles. After Vucevic joined through a trade, Markkanen became a substitute.
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