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Lauri Markkanen wins Most Improved Player award
Former Chicago Bulls standout Lauri Markkanen capped off his spectacular season by getting much-deserved recognition for it, as he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player on Monday. Now the unquestioned star of the upstart Utah Jazz, he was the overwhelming winner, snatching 69 of the 100 first-place votes to beat out Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Drafted by Chicago
The Bulls selected the Finnish forward with the 7th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and he went on to play in Chicago for four seasons, averaging 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds during his time in the Windy City. He played one season for Cleveland before getting traded to Utah as part of the deal involving Donovan Mitchell.
Markkanen then flourished in Salt Lake City, leading the Jazz to a surprising 37-45 record in the tough Western Conference while registering fantastic numbers of 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. This was a solid improvement from his previous season’s averages of 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per outing.
Markkanen is the 7th international player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Pascal Siakam, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Goran Dragic, Boris Diaw, Hedo Turkoglu, and Gheorghe Muresan.
Huge privilege
Speaking from Helsinki, where he is currently serving in the military as part of the government’s mandate for all Finnish men before they turn 30 years old, Lauri appeared in an NBA on TNT interview.
“It feels great. Obviously, it’s a huge privilege to be in this position,” said Markkanen.
With promising big man Walker Kessler and up-and-coming point guard Collin Sexton, the Utah Jazz have a core of young players who could be the cornerstones of a title contender for years to come.
