The Finnish superstar spoke ahead of the Semi-Finals against Germany at FIBA EuroBasket 2025
By Cesare Milanti / [email protected]
Riga, Latvia – The biggest game in Finnish basketball history is approaching quickly, as Finland will take on Germany on Friday 12th of September at 16:00 CET in the EuroBasket Semi-Finals.
Lauri Markkanen, who’s averaging 24.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, representing his country this summer, stopped by in the mixed zone following Finland’s practice in Xiaomi Arena.
“We’re getting ready for the next game, that’s it. That’s all we care about. It’s obviously nice that we got this far. That was one of our goals, but we’re already focusing on tomorrow’s game,” he first said.
After losing by 30 points in Tampere’s Group Phase (91-61), Finland is ready to get their revenge on Germany in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Semi-Finals, spoiling the party to the World Champions.
“It wasn’t our best game. Obviously, they did a good job of taking away some of our stuff, so we made some little adjustments,” the Utah Jazz superstar commented.
“You don’t need to find motivation or energy to play; that’s given in this kind of pressure game, but just making little adjustments to how we can play our style of basketball, and we’ll see how far that goes.”
Lauri Markkanen also asked about being inspired by Dirk Nowitzki, who propelled Germany to historic achievements on his behalf before the country’s recent basketball golden era.
“I’ve talked with him a couple of times; he’s a great guy, and he was a great player. I’m just trying to do something similar to what he did. He was one of the all-time greats, so not an easy path to follow, but I try my best,” he continued.
When asked about his biggest development this summer, he answered pretty clearly. “I think mentality-wise, I’ve grown. Going at my own pace and being able to know where I want the ball and how to come up with the shot that I want, and creating that shot, and then it’s a matter of make or miss,” he said.
“I know I can get it up at any time, and so I think that’s a big thing. I worked on a ton of stuff with the ball handling and shooting off the dribble, so I think those are the biggest things,” Markkanen added.
“I had high expectations for myself, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Defense adjusted and teams started to take certain things away, and I think I’ve been able to have some success and something to look at that I can get better at. I’m just trying to do my best every day and really help the team win.”
The Utah Jazz’s phenomenon also spoke about the next big thing for Finnish basketball, the 18-year-old sensation Miikka Muurinen, who has been taking EuroBasket 2025 by storm.
“He brings a different dynamic to our defense and offense with his length and athleticism. He’s a skilled player, he can shoot the three-ball, he can shoot the mid-range,” Markkanen commented on Muurinen.
“He’s played his role really well, bringing the energy of the bench. He’s been doing a great job of adjusting to his role. We need to be grateful to have him,” he continued about the 2007-born forward.
He was also asked if this, besides ice hockey, is the best sports achievement ever for Finland. “Tough question to answer,” he first said. “There’s been some big moments in sports for Finland. We try to get a couple more wins and make it even a little bit bigger,” Markkanen also shared.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA
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