HELSINKI (Finland) - Finland got a big boost for their chances at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 with their star forward Lauri Markkanen confirming he will be on board for this summer's tournament - and aiming to make more history.
"It’s always an honor to put on the Finland jersey," Markkanen told the Finnish media outlet mtv uutiset. "I’m really looking forward to the tournament, of course, but also every single time I get to wear it - including these exhibition games."
"It’s always an honor to put on the Finland jersey."
The NBA forward will be needed for the Susijengi as they host Group B in Tampere, where their opponents will be world champions Germany, Great Britain, Lithuania, Montenegro and Sweden.
The top four teams advance to the knockout stage in Riga, Latvia.
The 28-year-old Markkanen already has three major events under his belt: the 2017 EuroBasket and 2022 EuroBasket as well as the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 but he missed the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 - Spain due to a shoulder injury.
Markkanen fondly remembers the 2017 EuroBasket, the group stage of which took place in Helsinki. Finland ended up advancing but would lose in the Round of 16 to Italy.
"The atmosphere in 2017 was pretty crazy, so we expect the same again. Hopefully, we can improve on those performances," Markkanen said.
Finland took a step forward in 2022 when Markkanen finished second in scoring and the team reached the Quarter-Finals and ended up in seventh place.
Markkanen has loftier expectations this time around - namely reaching the podium.
"It'll take a lot of work and surely we'll face setbacks, but we're aiming for the medal games, of course. It's not enough just to play home games – we want to continue the journey to Riga," he said.
The FIBA EuroBasket 2025 runs from August 27 to September 15.
FIBA