Amid the EuroBasket 2025 tournament, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is playing for Finland and didn't disappoint in their first-round opening matchup against Sweden. Finland edged out Sweden 93-90 to secure their first win of EuroBasket 2025.
Markkanen finished with 28 points on 7-of-15 attempts, including 2-of-4 from deep, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals against Sweden.
Led by Lauri Markkanen, Finland notches an opening day win over Sweden in #EuroBasket 2025 🔥
28 points 7-of-15 FG
6 rebounds 2-of-4 3PT
3 assists 12-of-14 FT
2 steals@EuroBasket @courtside1891 pic.twitter.com/V9zSSiCUBZ— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 27, 2025
Despite making 62.1% of their attempts, Sweden failed to close out Markkanen and Finland in the second half, connecting on 12-of-26 of their threes to seal a victory for Finland.
Lauri Markkanen goes off for 42 points in Finland's exhibition
Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was heating up for EuroBasket 2025. After going off throughout Finland's exhibition games, it set the stage for his 28-point performance that they needed to beat Sweden in a nail-biter. During Sunday's 97-88 victory against Poland, Markkanen went off, scoring 42 points and finishing with 12 rebounds and three blocks on 10-of-17 shooting in 24 minutes, which made his performance all the more impressive.
Finland's exhibition win followed contests of 31 points and 48 points for Markkanen during the EuroBasket exhibition contests against Belgium. Markkanen's 48 points set a Finland national team record in his hometown of Jyväskylä, Finland, on August 8.
Markkanen has been working extra hard on this game this offseason, which should be good news for Jazz fans who will want to see at least one polished NBA veteran on the court amid what figures to be a brutal rebuilding year. Could 2025-26 be the season we see Markkanen traded? He will be entering his fourth season with the Jazz, marking the first year of his four-year, $195.8 million contract, which is worth $46.3 million in the 2025-26 season.
Despite his new deal, the Jazz wouldn't go so far as to label Marrkanen as off-limits for a potential trade, per ESPN insiders.
“It would be too much to describe Markkanen as untouchable, but the Jazz still project the All-Star forward as a key player in their future core,” ESPN's insiders wrote.
“Utah listened to offers for Markkanen last summer, but none of the talks with other teams ever came close to tempting CEO Danny Ainge and GM Justin Zanik to make a trade. The Jazz ultimately awarded Markkanen a five-year, $238 million maximum renegotiation and extension, allowing him to sign the deal last Aug. 7 and making him ineligible to be traded before last season's deadline.”
Perhaps interest in Markkanen will pique new trade proposals and the Jazz's interest ahead of the upcoming season's trade deadline.
