Chicago Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen suffered an injury scare while playing for Finland in EuroBasket. Markkanen hurt his leg while attempting a last-gasp, game-tying three-pointer in Finland’s 81-78 defeat to Slovenia and had to be helped off the court.
Markkanen steps out of bounds on game-tying attempt, injures himself on the play. He's being helped off the court after the game. pic.twitter.com/uQWBegS5Zk
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) September 2, 2017
Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago, however, later reported on Twitter that Chicago Bulls personnel deemed that the injury to their incoming rookie wasn’t serious. There's even a good chance Markkanen plays Finland’s next game against Poland.
Hearing from Bulls personnel that Markkanen's injury isn't bad, and it's likely he plays Sunday https://t.co/qMom6yIjlX
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) September 2, 2017
The Bulls should breathe a sigh of relief that with promising news on Markkanen. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft was one of the marquee pieces in the Bulls’ blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jimmy Butler this summer.
Markkanen has begun EuroBasket 2017 on a very bright note. He put up 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and hit a clutch 3-pointer in Finland’s big 86-84 upset of France in their first game of the tournament. He then followed that up with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting plus seven rebounds in a losing effort against Slovenia.
Hopefully for Finland, the injury Markkanen suffered against Slovenia doesn’t sufficiently slow him down for the rest of the tournament and that he can continue to give a glimpse of what he can bring to the Bulls next season.
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