Uncertain for the meeting between Utah and Chicago, Lauri Markkanen could not miss his reunion with the Bulls, a franchise where he played from 2017 to 2021. Looking back, Chicago was a difficult stage in his early career in the NBA, but necessary, because it helped him become the fulfilled player he is today. We saw it in this match that he still dominated with his 32 points, despite a 5th loss in a row for the Jazz.
The Finn can look at the results of his time at Windy City with his head held high since it was Chicago who pushed him out by accepting a “sign-and-trade” in a triangle transfer for him to commit with Cleveland in the summer of 2021.
“Obviously there were tough times, like missing the playoffs four years in a row. But now I can say that I needed that kind of experience, to fight against that kind of stuff to get to where I am today,” he confided. “We always hope to play for one team throughout his career. But it just didn’t work. I think I have clearly improved over the years, mentally, physically and because I am in a better place (…). I’m smarter and better now.”
Two experiments ended abruptly
His year in Cleveland was also a great experience, but other profiles were finally preferred to him since the Ohio franchise relied on Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to develop its interior sector, and when it was necessary to recover Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkanen packed her bags with Collin Sexton.
A start that was not easy to digest…
” It was hard. I didn’t really expect to be traded. I was preparing for the EuroBasket matches and it caught me off guard. I was a bit shocked at first because I thought we had found a home in Cleveland. But this is the NBA and you never know what’s going to happen. As time went on, we looked at it in a different way and how we could bounce back from that. It was a good thing”.
At the end of these two experiences, there was the EuroBasket, which after the fact looks like a final exam to prepare for the sequel to Utah, with an average of 28 points to accompany the Finnish course until the quarter-finals against to Spain, future winner of the competition.
Two and a half months later, the inside made the best start to the season of his career in Salt Lake City. The fruit of his journey, but also of the way his new team plays
“Obviously we have a great team and a good system in place that everyone buys into. Everyone plays really selfless basketball and I think that’s where I can be at my best. I have a ton of open shots thanks to the circulation of the ball and thanks to extra passes. I’m not saying it wasn’t the case elsewhere, but I think it’s just our workforce adapting to this system and making it click.
| Lauri Markkanen | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 68 | 30 | 43.4 | 36.2 | 84.3 | 1.2 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 15.2 |
| 2018-19 | CHI | 52 | 32 | 43.0 | 36.1 | 87.2 | 1.4 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 50 | 30 | 42.5 | 34.4 | 82.4 | 1.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 14.7 |
| 2020-21 | CHI | 51 | 26 | 48.0 | 40.2 | 82.6 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 13.6 |
| 2021-22 | KEY | 61 | 31 | 44.5 | 35.8 | 86.8 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| 2022-23 | UTH | 22 | 34 | 52.1 | 36.6 | 81.9 | 2.3 | 6.1 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 21.7 |
| Total | 301 | 30 | 44.8 | 36.4 | 84.7 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 15.8 | |
