Markkanen is the first basketball player to win this award.
Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen has been named Finland’s Athlete of the Year. He is the first basketball player to win this award. This adds to his already extensive list of accomplishments as the first Finnish basketball player to do so. Markkanen was the first Finnish player drafted into the NBA, and everything he has accomplished since then has been a first for Finland.
Markkanen’s victory comes on the heels of a breakthrough 2023 season in which he appeared as a starter in the NBA All-Star Game and was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. Markkanen averaged 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season.
The previous winner and four-time winner, Libo Niskanen, is an Olympic skier who has won three gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal. Most past winners have been skiers or track and field athletes. Markkanen received 1,998 votes and 126 first-place votes. Pole vaulter Wilma Murt came in second place with 1,879 votes, with 48 first-place votes. Rally driver Kalle Rovanpera came in third place with 1,645 votes, and his first place was 29th.
Markkanen continues to rack up accolades in an already impressive career, and the 26-year-old is just getting started.
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