Entertainment Sports Utah Jazz Star Lauri Markkanen Shows Off Buzz Cut as He Reports for Military Service in Finland "I'm confident I can do it in a way that it's not going to affect my preparation for next season," the basketball player said of serving in the Finnish military By Alexis Jones Alexis Jones Alexis Jones is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on Daily Bruin. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 18, 2023 11:44PM EDT Close Photo: Lauri Markkanen/instagram Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is ready for duty. The basketball star has officially reported for military service in Finland after geotagging Helsinki in his Instagram post of his buzz cut over the weekend. Giving a thumbs up in his selfie, Markkanen, 25, jokingly wrote, "Curls will be back." As a Finnish citizen, the NBA player told ESPN earlier this month that serving his country is "mandatory." "We have to do it, but at the same time we take pride in it, too," Markkanen said. "I think it sets an example to serve. And I'm confident I can do it in a way that it's not going to affect my preparation for next season, either." BTS' J-Hope Shares Image of Chopped Hair Ahead of His Military Service Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Markkanen's agent Michael Lelchitski told ESPN that "Lauri has always said he was going to do this." "It's important for him as a citizen to fulfill his civic duty and not have any kind of preferential treatment just because he is a famous athlete," he added. According to ESPN, Markkanen postponed his service while playing for the University of Arizona and the Finnish national team. He also reportedly was supposed to serve last season; but the Cleveland Cavaliers, his former team, made the play-in tournament, which conflicted with when he was to report for duty. How Rob Riggle's Military Service Inspired His Hollywood Dreams: 'I'm Gonna Bet on Myself' Markkanen will train at the Defence Forces' Sports School, whose goal "is to train reconnaissance squads for emergency and wartime conditions" and where several trainees there are also athletes, ESPN reported. "Of course I'd rather be working out like I normally do [in the offseason], but I've heard they do a good job of combining the two," Markkanen told ESPN. "You're able to do your job working as an athlete and your basic training at the same time." Coming off this season with the Utah Jazz, Markkanen broke his career high with an average of 25.6 points every game as well as 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists, per Yahoo Sports.