Markkanen is caught in the ‘military’ by the award for the most improved player in the NBA

Lauri Markkanen has been chosen as the player with the most progression of the season in the NBA. The Jazz power forward, 2.13 meters and 25 years old, he has averaged 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game. In addition, he has become the first player in NBA history to He has achieved in the same season 100 dunks and 200 triples.

The Finnish player, who last summer left the Cavaliers for Utah in the Donovan Mitchell tradehas outvoted Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, base de los Thunderalready Jalen Brunson, Knicks point guard. Markkanen has obtained 430 points, with 69 votes out of 100 possible for first place. Her competitors stayed at 289 and 91 points, respectively.

The power forward, the news of the award reaches him while he is doing his military service in Finland, an obligation that all men in the country must comply with before reaching the age of 30. “It is obligatory, we have to do it, but at the same time we also take pride in it. It is an example to serve the country. I am confident that I can do it in a way that does not affect my preparation for the next season,” he recently explained.

“The Curls Will Come Back”

Markkanen has shown an image on his Instagram account in which appears with a shaved head. “The curls will return,” he joked. He joined the army in mid-April and He will train within his squad for reconnaissance work in emergency and war situations.. Many of his replacement teammates will be professional athletes. “Lauri always said that he was going to do this. It is important for him as a citizen to fulfill his civic duty and not have any kind of preferential treatment just because he is a famous athlete,” said his former representative.

After some summers in which due to personal commitments or those of his national team he was unable to complete his military service, he is now doing so taking advantage of the fact that the Jazz did not make the playoffs. AND the moment is delicate. Finland was recently accepted as a member of NATO, which means increasing the organization’s direct borders with Russia by more than 1,300 kilometerswhose response was to threaten to increase its military presence in the area.