Lauri Markkanen is projected to be be a top 10 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. A stretch power forward with range, the big man out of the University of Arizona finished his last season as a Wildcat averaging 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.9 3-point field goals made per game.
A proficient shooter, Markkanen shot 69 3’s in 37 games. With a shooting touch like that, it’s easy for many to compare Markkanen to Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. “Yeah, I mean, I hear that a lot,” Markkanen told me Tuesday on Scoop B Radio during Conversion Sports and Entertainment’s 8th Annual Official Pre-Draft Gifting & Style SuitePress Room.
“And I tell everyone that it’s a great honor to be compared to him. So, I know where the comparison is coming from, so I don’t mind the question.”
As a 7-footer, you’d think Markkanen would like other tall tree branches like himself.
But he’s a finesse guy.
In today’s hoops world, everybody wants to dribble, crossover and shoot threes. At 7-feet tall, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, for example, is a starting point guard in head coach, Jason Kidd’s system. At a lanky 6’5, James Harden was a triple double threat as a point guard in the Houston Rockets’ system.
Markkanen is just as gifted.
The big man is great at moving off screens and going left. He’s proficient at creating space and has great court awareness to distribute the ball when double teammed.
The Finnish face up power forward gets it honestly. “I played guard my whole life,” said Markkanen. “I used to double on my inside game a couple of years back, so it’s really whatever coach wants me to play. I can play whatever he asks me to.”
Check out Lauri Markkanen and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio
According to Draftexpress, Markkanen is one of the top jump shooters in this draft regardless of position. He made 42% of his 3-point attempts over 5.9 attempts per-40 minutes pace adjusted last season. He was a huge component to Arizona’s Sweet 16 and was rewarded by earning All-Pac 12 honors. Having played for HBA-Märsky in Finland from 2014 to 2016 and then playing at U of A as a freshman, Markkanen is versed in playing both the European and American game.
“Some legalities of the game are more physical here,” he said. “I would say half-court offense are weaker back home. I would really say offense and defense really stood out to me, like you really got to get back on defense, players are more athletic, so that’s definitely one thing.”
With those experiences, he’s ready for the big dance: “I feel that it prepared me really well. Obviously, I played my whole career back home, then I wanted to challenge myself and this game is a little different here. So I wanted to challenge myself to be better, so I feel that I have both experiences now.”
Markkanen grew up being both a huge Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant fan. He says he was glued to the television during the 2006 NBA Finals when Wade’s Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in those NBA Finals. Wade averaged a heroic 34.7 PPG 7.8 RBG and 3.8 AST in that series.
Markkanen was hooked on Wade’s execution: “Super quick and impacting the game in a lot of ways,” he said. “I really liked him and how he played.”
Markkanen likes Bryant too. When pressed about his two fondest moments of Black Mamba he broke it down: “I remember he shot like 3 three’s in a row against the Toronto Raptors and tied the game to go to the overtime, that’s one,” he said. “I watched the 81 point games, so that would probably be two.”
Petteri Koponen was the first and last player from Finland to be selected in the NBA Draft. As a matter of fact, he was the 30th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. “He never played in a NBA game,” Markkanen reminded me.
Koponen was Markkanen’s teammate on Finland’s national team. With tomorrow being the big day, Markkanen shared some of the advice that Koponen shared: “Mostly like just keep working, enjoy the process,” he said. “He went through the same stuff, working for teams. So, he’s telling me just keep doing what I’m doing right now and enjoy it.”
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