''Unstoppable'' Markkanen excited about upcoming summer with Finland

MIES (Switzerland) - It all makes sense, now, the way Lauri Markkanen looks like a superhero as he races up and down the court for Finland.

The fact that no matter what opponents try to do to stop him, the Susijengi does what the Susijengi wants to do.

He gets to rim for ferocious dunks, hits fadeaway jumpers - even three-pointers - and he makes spectacular, pinpoint accurate bounce passes to teammates.

All the while, he's thinking of the lyrics of his favorite pre-game song  "Unstoppable," by Sia.

There are words like invincible, powerful, and confident.

They all describe the play of Markkanen.

"It's always an honor to represent the country," he said during an interview conducted by the NBA at the All-Star break.

"It keeps you going, having even more motivation during the summer workouts, getting ready for those games and obviously it's going to go right into the NBA season (after).

"So try to be in the best shape of your life, come back, and be ready to play. It's going to be a lot of fun, fun to compete against different countries, and obviously, the best guys are going to be there."

Markkanen truly has become unstoppable, which is why Finland will be a must-see team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup this summer, whether they play in Japan, the Philippines or Indonesia.

I'VE PLAYED MY BEST BASKETBALL IN THE NBA AFTER HAVING THE SUMMER WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM

He says, unequivocally, that he'll be there.

"Yeah," he said to Hoopshype.com. That was a big thing for us. I think we were the first country other than the host country to qualify. That's our first-time basketball performance-wise qualifying. It was a big thing for us. I always want to represent the country, and I’m looking forward to it."

In his first season with the Utah Jazz, Markkanen started in the All-Star Game.

Utah fans marvel at the way Markkanen takes over in key situations. It's the same approach he had at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, when he was on fire while averaging 27.9 points, second only to Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In one game, against Croatia in Berlin in the Round of 16, Markkanen erupted for 43 points!

It's fitting that, when asked about his favorite European player of all time at the All-Star Game, he answered Dirk Nowitzki, and also said Luka Doncic was his favorite European player in the NBA.

Markkanen is just like them in terms of taking over games and putting his team on his back and carrying them to victories, be it Finland or the Jazz.

Nowitzki once had 47 points in a victory over Angola at the 2006 World Cup. He also had 43 in the Third-Place Game defeat to Spain at EuroBasket 2001. Doncic had 47 points in a Group Phase win over France at last year's EuroBasket.

Markkanen led the Susijengi in scoring in six of their seven games at EuroBasket 2022.

So what has changed about him since the last NBA season?

News that he'd been traded by Cleveland to Utah on the eve of EuroBasket 2022 triggered something inside him.

"I take a lot of pride representing my country," he said. "It's always a pleasure to go back. I think everybody lifts their confidence up because they may come from a club (NBA) team where they aren't getting as big a role as on the national team.

"I got back to the fun part. I really enjoyed playing for them and the group of guys we had. I think EuroBasket combined with the timing of the trade, which I think was a day before EuroBasket, all kind of fed into me trying to prove myself after being traded, and I wanted to have a career year.

"It was a competitive tournament, with most of the NBA guys from Europe going back to play for their countries, like (Nikola) Jokic, Giannis (Antetokounmpo), and Luka (Doncic). Being the main guy on our team and getting that attention from the defenses, and still being able to produce really boosted my confidence. It was a really competitive basketball tournament.

"If I’m able to do it here, mentally, I think something clicked. Proving myself and seeing that I’m able to do it built my confidence more. When I got to Utah, the coach told me whatever I did in Finland, he wanted me to do it here."

Markkanen is in demand. It seems like a day doesn't go by when someone doesn't ask him to be on a podcast. For example, he went on The Draymond Green Show.

Green, the two-time USA Olympic champion and Golden State Warriors great, also wanted to know about the EuroBasket and how it has impacted Markkanen's season.

"It's just about everything clicking," Markkanen answered.

At the EuroBasket, he said, Finland coach Lassi Tuovi put the ball in his hands and let him do his thing. But he also played well off the ball.

Markkanen exploded for 43 points against Croatia in the EuroBasket Round of 16

"Being the guy and seeing all the different coverages and trying to lead the team over there," he said, "... the first thing (Utah) coach (Will) Hardy said, 'We just need the same version of how you were playing over there, we need it here. That was a really big thing for me.

"In Cleveland, I took the challenge of guarding the best player on the other team and tried to do whatever the team needed me to do.

"They still traded me, but that's just the business of basketball. That kind of switched my mindset, too. I got the confidence back up in the EuroBasket, came in with that and I'm just trying to keep that going. That was a big mental switch for me.

"I think I've played my best basketball in the NBA after having the summer with the national team. It's just being in good shape, coming back for training."

Something else has happened to Markkanen. He's become a family man. Markkanen and his wife have two small children.

Utah have played better than people expected this season, due in large part to Markkanen, though it remains to be seen if they will make the playoffs. The Jazz are still firmly in contention.

Once the NBA season ends, however, his attention will switch immediately to Finland and their World Cup campaign. The event tips off on August 25 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

Markkanen told Green he's very optimistic about Finland's World Cup campaign.

"Expect us to make some noise," he said. "I think we're getting better as a basketball country. We're all confident going in. This is the first time we actually qualified so everybody is excited and we're going to bring a ton of fans and hopefully we get to play you guys (USA)." 

FIBA