By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lauri Markkanen showed much promise from his early stages in the NBA but never shined like with the Utah Jazz. This season he’s by far the best player in Salt Lake City and among the best in the League, as proven by his All-star selection.
Averaging 25,5 points on 51,3% shooting from the field, the No. 7 pick from the 2017 draft is now among the top contenders to win the Most Improved Player award, as ESPN reports.
“That’s some extra motivation, but I’m not thinking about it. I talked about the responsibility, and I’m enjoying the challenge, and if those individual goals happen if we keep winning games and I keep doing my thing. I go daily to keep working, and I hope that happens, but we’ll see. Just try to get these wins together and keep going from there. Still, obviously, it would be a cool trophy to have at home, but that’s not the main goal right now,” Markkanen said after winning the battle with another European star in the making, Paolo Banchero.
He started his NBA career with Chicago Bulls, spent four years in the Windy City, and then another season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. His previous career bests of 18,7 points on 48% shooting are in the shadow of his performances with Utah; hence the MIP award is on the horizon for him.
“Having that confidence, being in the right system, with the right teammates, I think it’s just — keep working, and I guess preparation meeting opportunity, right?”
What especially pleases the Utah Jazz is that Lauri can still grow, as coach Will Hardy noted before Thursday’s win against Orlando: “I don’t know if we’re even close to the ceiling yet.” Markkanen is finally in the right spot for his career.
“You can always look back. I think that was the goal for everybody to stay with one team their whole career, but that doesn’t really happen too often anymore. Just the way things went, I might not have been the same player I am today. I was playing the four position in Chicago. I went to Cleveland, and I played the 3. Obviously, the team worked on my body so that I could play the 3. Now we play with a big lineup, so I think things clicked,” the six-time Finish Player of the Year added.
Even though his former teams maybe didn’t realize his true potential, the 25-year-old doesn’t hold grudges.
“I’ve got no bad feelings. They were using me for what was best for them, and I wasn’t the same player I am today. I wasn’t that in Chicago. No bad feelings toward them. It’s always fun to go back and talk to the guys.”
Coach Hardy also said that Markkanen has “grown into the mindset of a go-to guy,” and Lauri feels good about it.
“I think I’m getting more and more comfortable in those situations. The only way you get them is game reps, really. Sometimes you miss them, and sometimes you make them. You are just trying to get better and get to your spots. So it feels good.”
The Utah Jazz’s new on-court leader always tries to learn from the past.
“I appreciate the downtimes, too. That’s why I am the player that I am today, the human I am today. Because I was really in a dark place mentally at times just because I had high expectations of myself and wasn’t performing. Just remembering the tough times makes you appreciate the All-Star nod. Getting the opportunity to be the guy at the end of the games, you appreciate that after you’ve had some rougher times,” Lauri Markkanen concluded.