TALLINN (Estonia) - The days are long, the weather is hot, the sun sets late and Lauri Markkanen can't stop scoring. Those are the most common signs that your calendar is showing August on its front page.
The unstoppable Finnish star had plenty of motivation against Estonia, trying to bounce back after a home defeat to Sweden on Thursday.
He was in a rush to dominate, picking up 18 points and 10 rebounds across the first three quarters to pave the way towards a 96-67 win, finishing with 21 and 10 on the day, done in 26 minutes, for an efficiency rating of 26.
Lauri's double-doubles with Finland
Competition | Opponent (date) | Double-double |
|---|---|---|
World Cup Qualifiers | vs. Estonia (August 30, 2026) | 21 PTS | 10 REB |
FIBA EuroBasket | vs. Greece (September 14, 2025) | 19 PTS | 10 REB |
FIBA EuroBasket | vs. Lithuania (September 1, 2025) | 19 PTS | 11 REB |
FIBA EuroBasket | vs. Montenegro (August 30, 2025) | 26 PTS | 13 REB |
FIBA Basketball World Cup | vs. Japan (August 27, 2023) | 27 PTS | 12 REB |
FIBA EuroBasket | vs. Spain (September 13, 2022) | 28 PTS | 11 REB |
FIBA EuroBasket | vs. Czechia (September 6, 2022) | 34 PTS | 10 REB |
FIBA EuroBasket | vs. Israel (September 2, 2022) | 33 PTS | 12 REB |
World Cup Qualifiers | vs. Sweden (June 30, 2022) | 22 PTS | 11 REB |
It was his ninth double-double in the Susijengi jersey, three of them coming at FIBA EuroBasket 2025, three at FIBA EuroBasket 2022, two in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers, and one at the World Cup.
Keep in mind that three of those happened in August.
Of course, this was nowhere near his scoring records with the national team. Lauri's best game ever for Finland was on August 8, 2025, in a preparation game against Belgium, when he netted in 48 points.
Later that month, he had a 43-point outburst at FIBA EuroBasket 2025, picking Great Britain's defense apart, and tying his own EuroBasket career-high, set against Croatia in September 2022.
Another two 40+ point games arrived on August 17, 2025, and August 18, 2022, counting to 42 both times, with Poland and Ukraine on the other side, respectively.
Lauri's scoring highs for Finland
Competition | Opponent (Date) | Total points |
|---|---|---|
Preparation game | Belgium (August 8, 2025) | 48 |
FIBA EuroBasket | Croatia (September 11, 2022) | 43 |
FIBA EuroBasket | Great Britain (August 29, 2025) | 43 |
Preparation game | Poland (August 17, 2025) | 42 |
Preparation game | Ukraine (August 18, 2022) | 42 |
August air just hits differently if you're Lauri Markkanen.
FIBA