Player Bio

Lauri Elias Markkanen was born in Vantaa, Finland in 1997 to Pekka and Riikka Markkanen. His father Pekka attended the University of Kansas in 1989-90 and then played professionally in Finland. As a teenager, the younger Markkanen saw time at the junior level for HoNsU in Jyvaskyla. He then moved on to HBA-Marsky in the second-tier Finnish league before leaving for the University of Arizona in 2016. Markkanen has represented Finland in many international events, with his most notable accomplishments finishing as leading scorer at both the 2015 U18 Euros and 2016 U20 Euros. He has been actively involved with eco-friendly causes raising awareness for climate change. You can follow Markkanen on Twitter (@MarkkanenLauri) and Instagram (@laurimarkkanen). It did not take long for Markkanen to establish himself as a go-to player for coach Sean Miller at Arizona. The Finnish seven-footer scored at least 13 points in his first nine games, including the first of his six double-doubles for the season. He helped the Wildcats beat Michigan State and Texas A&M prior to the Pac-12 Conference schedule. Markkanen's production did not slow down against conference foes. He had a string of 20-point games in wins over Colorado, Arizona State and USC, including a career-high 30 points in the win over the rival Sun Devils. Despite slumping briefly in early February with four straight single-point efforts, the towering forward rebounded late in conference play and kept the momentum through the postseason. He helped Arizona win the Pac-12 Conference Tournament by averaging 20.0 points. The squad advanced to the Sweet 16 with wins over North Dakota and Saint Mary's. Markkanen averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in that pair of victories. The Wildcat season ended against Xavier. Markkanen then announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft after the season.