In the European Basketball Championship, unexpectedly, he is a major scoring machine!

Today, let's discuss the EuroBasket.

Since the competition began, who has been the most surprising individual performer?

Easton averaging 33 points and 9.7 assists per game? That's standard, but it hasn’t been enough to lead the team.

Coach Jokic? Serbia is too powerful; if they don’t push hard, the opponents just give up.

Although Finland lost narrowly to Lithuania last night, I still want to say that Markkanen’s performance in this tournament has left a strong impression on me.

This guy is just outrageous, making Warriors fans salivate.

In the group stage opener against Sweden, he scored 28 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and made 2 steals, helping Finland secure a 93-90 victory.

Then, against Great Britain, he played only 23 minutes, shot 13 of 22 from the field, 7 of 13 from beyond the arc, and exploded for 43 points, along with 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 steals, leading the team to a 109-79 blowout win.

This was his second 43-point game in the EuroBasket since 2022 against Croatia, tying his personal tournament scoring record and becoming the second player in 36 years to score 40+ points multiple times in the EuroBasket.

In the third game, a big win over Montenegro, he posted 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Last night was his weakest performance, with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists...

Looking only at the first two EuroBasket games, Markkanen averaged 27.8 minutes, scoring 35.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals per game, topping the scoring charts! His shooting percentages were 54.1% from the field, 52.9% from three, and 88% from the free-throw line.

He has turned himself into the FIBA version of Durant...

The groupings for this tournament are:

Group A: Serbia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Estonia, Portugal;

Group B: Germany, Lithuania, Montenegro, Finland, Great Britain, Sweden;

Group C: Spain, Greece, Italy, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus;

Group D: France, Slovenia, Poland, Israel, Belgium, Iceland.

For Finland, Markkanen’s dominant performances in these two games were crucial for advancing, as the team was on the back foot against Germany and Lithuania.

If you know him, you’d realize this isn’t just about one or two games.

He was already impressive in the warm-up games.

Finland beat Poland 97-88, with Markkanen scoring 42 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in just 24 minutes, hitting 3 of 7 three-pointers and an incredible 19 of 20 free throws.

Across three warm-up games, he averaged 40.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, shooting 68.6% from the field and 53.8% from three—I've never seen anyone so dominant on offense in FIBA play.

Actually, in the last EuroBasket (2022), he was already tearing it up, averaging 27.9 points and 8.1 rebounds, leading Finland to the quarterfinals.

He eliminated Croatia to reach the top eight, delivering an explosive 43 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals to send a strong opponent home.

In the 2023 World Cup, he averaged 24.8 points and 8 rebounds, which is impressive for FIBA’s 40-minute format. (Unfortunately, they lost to Japan...)

Why is Markkanen so dominant in FIBA?

First, he is absolutely the core of the Finnish team.

In Europe, Finland’s overall strength isn’t very high, so the team revolves around him. (Speaking of Finland, pay attention to their number 24, the five-star high school recruit Muurinen, who has a very promising future.)

If Markkanen doesn’t perform, Finland hardly has a chance to beat Sweden—that’s the difference.

Second, it mainly comes down to his personal style and ability.

This guy is known as the "Finnish little driver," combining height (2.13 meters) with versatile offensive skills; he can score in the post or shoot threes from outside.

The FIBA three-point line is closer than the NBA’s, and there’s no defensive three-second rule, allowing him to easily create plays or shoot near the free-throw line, making it hard for opponents to help defend.

This gives him an unlimited mismatch advantage against European teams, making him a threat both facing up and posting up.

Big men with range dominate international play, and this has been proven over countless games.

Markkanen is also good in the NBA, but compared to Finland, he’s not nearly as dominant; he hasn’t even reached the playoffs with the Jazz.

This clearly shows that FIBA and the NBA are very different.

The rules and playing styles differ significantly.

Each generation has its star, and the FIBA style suits Markkanen perfectly.