Nba, Markkanen will leave for military service in Finland

Lauri MarkkanenUtah Jazz player he will have to leave the NBA to do his military service in Finland. The Balkan state joined NATO this week, in a very delicate political context due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The player will have to enlist in the Finnish army and perform military service, as required by state law, mandatory for all male citizens and to be completed within 30 years.

Markkanen will leave for military service

Finland, however, provides concessions for professional athletes, who can perform their service in a special unit, called “Sports School”. In fact, within this unit, athletes are allowed to train during their military service. According to Finnish federationthe main task of the “Sports School”and of Defense Forces in general, is to train the reconnaissance teamsin order to be able to face the conditions of emergency and war.

Normally the training duration for professional athletes is 165 days, which would lead to Markkanen missing from the playing fields for about five and a half months. The player himself explained that he will take part in military service during the offseason, explaining how it is possible both to carry on training and to continue training in the best possible way for next season.

Markkanen has already postponed military service several times, first during the university periodwhen he was studying at theUniversity of Arizona, and then for commitments with the Finnish national team. Last year his intentions were to start training once and for all, but i Cleveland Cavaliers (his former club) managed to qualify for the play-inand this has led to theoverlapping of the two things. Will that the player now wants to fulfill without postponing it any longer. Regardless of whether Utah makes the postseason or not, Lauri will leave for training, with his departure date changing accordingly.

In this regard, he released statements to ESPN: “It is mandatory, I have to do it. But at the same time I’m also proud of it. I think it’s a good example to set for younger kids. And I’m sure I can do it in a way that doesn’t affect my preparation for next season.”