The biggest game in Finnish basketball history is fast approaching, as Finland prepares to face Germany on Friday, September 12th, at 16:00 CET in the EuroBasket Semi-Finals.
Lauri Markkanen, averaging 24.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for his country this summer, spoke with the media following Finland’s practice at Xiaomi Arena.
“We’re getting ready for the next game, that’s it. That’s all we care about. It’s obviously nice that we got this far. That was one of our goals, but we’re already focusing on tomorrow’s game,” Markkanen explained, emphasizing the team’s forward-looking mindset despite already achieving a historic milestone.
After suffering a 30-point loss in the Group Phase in Tampere (91-61), Finland is determined to take revenge and challenge Germany in the Semi-Finals of FIBA EuroBasket 2025, attempting to derail the reigning World Champions.
“It wasn’t our best game. Obviously, they did a good job of taking away some of our stuff, so we made some little adjustments,” the Utah Jazz star noted. “You don’t need to find motivation or energy to play; that’s given in this kind of pressure game, but just making little adjustments to how we can play our style of basketball, and we’ll see how far that goes.”
When asked about drawing inspiration from Dirk Nowitzki, who led Germany to historic success before the nation’s current basketball prominence, Markkanen reflected, “I’ve talked with him a couple of times; he’s a great guy, and he was a great player. I’m just trying to do something similar to what he did. He was one of the all-time greats, so not an easy path to follow, but I try my best.”
Markkanen also shared what he considers his most significant personal development this summer: “I think mentality-wise, I’ve grown. Going at my own pace and being able to know where I want the ball and how to come up with the shot that I want, and creating that shot, and then it’s a matter of make or miss,” he said.
“I know I can get it up at any time, and so I think that’s a big thing. I worked on a ton of stuff with the ball handling and shooting off the dribble, so I think those are the biggest things,” he continued.
“I had high expectations for myself, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Defense adjusted and teams started to take certain things away, and I think I’ve been able to have some success and something to look at that I can get better at. I’m just trying to do my best every day and really help the team win,” Markkanen added, showing his focus on continuous improvement.
He also praised Finland’s 18-year-old sensation Miikka Muurinen, who has been making waves at EuroBasket 2025. “He brings a different dynamic to our defense and offense with his length and athleticism. He’s a skilled player, he can shoot the three-ball, he can shoot the mid-range,” Markkanen said.
“He’s played his role really well, bringing the energy of the bench. He’s been doing a great job of adjusting to his role. We need to be grateful to have him,” he continued, highlighting the importance of Muurinen’s contributions despite his young age.
Finally, when asked if this achievement ranks alongside Finland’s other historic sporting moments, Markkanen humbly responded, “Tough question to answer. There’s been some big moments in sports for Finland. We try to get a couple more wins and make it even a little bit bigger.”
Lauri Markkanen is ready for Finland's biggest game ever 🇫🇮@utahjazz's superstar spoke ahead of the #EuroBasket Semi-Finals against Germany, speaking about Dirk Nowitzki as an inspiration:https://t.co/cA40jeKTbh
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 11, 2025
