Lauri Markkanen was awarded the Title of NBA 2023 Most Improved Player. The Finnish forward’s scoring average has been 11 points per game.
The Utah Jazz forward maintained consistency throughout the 2022-23 NBA season which became the key reason for him to win the award over candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson, who had incredible seasons. The 25-year-old player earned his first All-Star selection this season and finished with career highs of 25.6 points and 1.9 assists plus 8.6 rebounds a game respectively.
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Markkanen also boosted his point average with an NBA best 10.87 per game & also had a career-best shooting average of 49.9% from the floor and 87.5% from the free throw line.
“It feels amazing,” Markkanen told NBA telecaster TNT from Helsinki, where he is fulfilling Finland’s military service requirements. “It’s a huge privilege to be in this position.” he also said “Just being in the right place at the right time”, remarking on his campaign.
He became the first European player to capture the award since Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee in 2017 and the first Jazz player ever to win the award. During the previous season, the Finnish star spent his last season playing with Cleveland Cavaliers before being replaced with Donovan Mitchell & joining Jazz.
For this season, Markkanen was named the NBA 2022-23 Most Improved Player. He accepted the award from Helsinki, where he is fulfilling his mandatory national duty of Finnish military service. Markkanen received 69 of the 100 first-place votes. Jazz could have made playoffs this season but they did not trade 3 players near the deadline they might have better luck next season & more commitment towards winning. With Markkanen on their side & his consistent performance the winning chances for Jazz might get better next season.
