Bulls News: Lauri Markkanen Gains 14 Pounds; 'I Feel Stronger'

Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen is adding some major muscle as he prepares for his second NBA season.  

"Everybody has been saying I'm bigger, but I don't know about all that," Markkanen told the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson. "I just know I feel good.

"I've put on about 14 pounds. In general, I feel stronger. Hopefully, I can keep this weight up and play with it because I feel it will help my game."

Markkanen clocked in at 230 pounds a season ago, so recent gains should have him in the 245-pound range as he prepares for a full-blown breakout in Year 2. 

As a rookie, the former Arizona sharpshooter ranked fourth among all first-year players and averaged 15.2 points per game. The only rookies with higher marks were Donovan Mitchell, Kyle Kuzma and Ben Simmons. 

On top of that, Markkanen pulled down 7.5 rebounds per game and shot 36.2 percent from three—including 39.0 percent on 82 attempts after the All-Star break. 

According to Basketball-Reference.com, those figures allowed Markkanen to join Larry Bird, Chuck Person and Lamar Odom as the only qualified rookies in league history to average at least 15 points and seven boards while shooting at least 35 percent from three. 

"From my seat he exceeded expectations," Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in April, per NBC Sports Chicago's Vincent Goodwill. "A foundational piece for everything we want to be. We're lucky."