Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Reports for Mandatory Military Service in Finland
The Utah Jazz's season is over, and the mandatory military service in Finland for Lauri Markkanen has begun:
George Ramsay of CNN shared comments from the Jazz big man explaining military service is mandatory in the country before the age of 30. For his part, Markkanen took advantage of some time off after Utah missed the playoffs.
"I just figured if we're not going to playing in the postseason this year, then it's going to be a good time to do it now, instead of just postponing it and then eventually having to do it in a time that wouldn't work so well for me," he said.
He also said he is unsure exactly how long the service will last but may do it across two different summers in an effort to avoid any overlap with basketball.
The timing is particularly notable, as Ramsay noted Finland was recently accepted as the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in light of neighboring Russia's ongoing and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine beginning in February 2022.
Markkanen is coming off the first All-Star season of his career and averaged 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from deep.
