Lauri Markkanen’s Stunning 43-Point Explosion Leaves EuroBasket Opponents Reeling—Can Anyone Stop Him?

Alperen Sengun had 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting with 12 rebounds and nine assists as his Türkiye team continues to look strong in a win over the Czech Republic.

Last season? Lauri Markkanen was mostly a ghost on the Utah court, sidelined by injuries that chopped his year in half. But man, did he announce his comeback with a bang at EuroBasket this past Friday — sending a thunderous dunk right over Great Britain’s defense and reminding everyone that he’s still got serious elevation in his game. That jaw-dropping dunk was just the tip of the iceberg; Markkanen torched the scoreboard for 43 points, powering Finland to a crucial group stage victory. Now sitting pretty at 2-0 after taking down Sweden and Great Britain, Markkanen’s sizzling average of 35.5 points per game has Jazz fans—and let’s be honest, plenty of NBA execs—watching closely. Up next: Finland faces a desperate Montenegro squad still searching for a W. Meanwhile, EuroBasket has been a showcase for some other NBA bigs lighting it up—Alperen Sengun nearly posted a triple-double, Kristaps Porzingis led Latvia to its first EuroBasket victory, and Nikola Jokic kept Serbia rolling with another dominant performance. It’s a basketball buffet you don’t want to miss. LEARN MOREIt wasn’t just that dunk, Markkanen dropped 43 to lead Finland to a group stage win.Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 10 rebounds in another win for Serbia, a team that has looked dominant so far.

We didn’t see a lot of Lauri Markkanen in Utah last season, with injuries cutting his season in half. Kristaps Porzingis had 26 points and seven rebounds to lift Latvia past Estonia for its first EuroBasket 2025 win.There were some other NBA big men who had good days at EuroBasket.Friday at EuroBasket, he reminded Great Britain, and everyone else, just how good he can be — and showed he still has plenty of hops.Finland is now 2-0 in group play, having beaten Sweden and Great Britain, with Markkanen is averaging 35.5 points a game. Jazz fans — and you can be sure some other front office personnel around the NBA — have taken notice. Next up for Finland is winless Montenegro.