Going into this season not a soul thought Lauri Markannen was going to be making the all-star game. Not a soul thought he would be the most efficient player in the league. Not a soul thought he would be able to keep this Utah team from being bottom dwellers this season. Somehow a guy that almost everyone thought was just some average role player has become one of the best players in the league, and at this point in the season I think it's safe to say that this is not a fluke.
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When you look at Lauri's run in the NBA it's very hard not to like the guy. He got drafted by Chicago during the Jim Boylen era, one of the worst era's in Bulls history. His growth was stunted, and by the end of his tenure in Chicago he was already wearing the "bust" label. He was shipped off to Cleveland where he was the fourth or fifth option on a team that was searching for their identity. He had a pretty underwhelming stint there before being sent to Utah in the blockbuster Donovan Mitchell trade. Nobody really batted an eye when they heard he would be in Utah this season, and for a lot of people this was his last chance to prove himself before he fell into irrelevancy for good. Little did we know, Lauri Markannen was gearing up to have one of the best seasons in Utah Jazz recent memory.
This season Markannen has averaged 24.6ppg, 8.6rebs, and 2asts on the most efficient shooting splits in the entire league. He helped the Jazz get off to one of the hottest starts in the league before the team inevitably cooled down probably due to some internal tanking decisions. Despite this cool down throughout the past two months or so, Markannen has managed to maintain his excellent level of play. As of today he is one of the top all-star vote getting forwards while playing for a small market without a wide reaching fanbase. It seems as if the wider NBA community recognizes just how spectacular he's been this season. If Anthony Davis doesn't get an all-star starter spot due to injury, Lauri has a very good shot at starting in this year's all-star game in Salt Lake City. It seems as if the stars have aligned perfectly for him to show out and get the support of not only Jazz fans, but NBA fans all together.
As we move through this season we will likely see what we have seen over the past two months, Lauri still playing great while the Jazz tank. However, do not misinterpret this as a classic empty stats on a bad team scenario, both his efficiency and the eye-test will tell you he's the real deal. The Jazz will likely get a very good pick in this draft (maybe two if the Timberwolves continue to suck) and there's a good chance this team makes a quick turn around. Building behind Markannen, talented rookies like Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji, future draft selections, and a ton of trade assets could quickly turn into a success story in Utah. If Lauri can maintain or even build on this level of play for multiple seasons, you will see one of the biggest fan favorites in the entire league leading a contending team before too long.
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