I think Lauri Markkanen’s life has been a bit like that of Benjamin Aguero, son of former Argentine soccer player Sergio Aguero. When you have Kun as your father, Diego Maradona as your grandfather, and Lionel Messi as your godfather, pressure’s on you, kid. But Lauri has still per to set his mark in the NBA, shining as Utah Jazz’s PF/SF.

The 27-year-old was born on 22nd May 1997 in Vantaa, Finland to a family full of sports people. This speaks volumes about his play on the paint, as his shifts for the Jazz can only come from someone who’s a competitive mentality instilled in him from day 1. Want a deep dive into who they are? We got you covered.

Who are Lauri Markkanen’s parents?

He is the youngest son of former Finnish basketball players, Pekka and Riikka Markkanen, and also finds himself a sensation in Finland. After starting his career at a collegiate level for the Kansas Jayhawks, he decided to go back to his motherland, and the rest as they say is history. Just the 3 Finnish league championships (1987, 1997, and 1998) later, he retired at the age of 40 to continue his own Project Mbappe with his sons Lauri, Eero, and Miikka. Oh, and did I mention that he also has 129 caps for the Finnish national team and that he won the Finnish Player of the Year in 1989? Mental, right?

Mama Markkanen didn’t do too badly herself either. Though her achievements at the professional scale are unknown, she was also a pretty recognizable name in the collegiate Finnish basketball scene. Riikka (nee Ellonen) eventually did drop out of a potential career in the sport to help her husband Pekka in training her three children.

Speaking about her children, Lauri Markkanen’s brothers are pretty accomplished athletes themselves. His older brother Eero plays as a striker for the Finnish club PK-35. 117 goals in 350 isn’t too bad at all considering that he also has 18 caps for the national team. His other brother Miikka also dabbled in a pro ball career, but it was unfortunately cut short due to injuries. Just to imagine how that would’ve panned out is crazy in itself.

A deep dive into his career

Seems like Lauri’s father’s shooting ability was well translated into Lauri himself, as SB Nation regarded him as ‘the best shooting 7-footer college basketball has ever seen’. He started his career with the Arizona Wildcats, becoming only the second player after Mike Bibby to rep the legendary no. 10 shirt. Wildcats fans would remember his career-high 30-pointer performance against their rivals Arizona State like it was yesterday. And in his sole season for them, he managed an impressive 15.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, .492 field-goal %, and .423 3-point % in just 37 games. If that doesn’t scream ‘future goat’, then I don’t know what will.

The Finnisher’s career is a testament to what successful athletes can do just by supporting their children’s dreams of following in their footsteps. Pekka and Riikka’s work has proved fruitful, much to their relief. And this isn’t just down to his parents’ work- the efforts of his brothers Eero and Miikka also show in Lauri’s determination and grit shown on the hardwood week-in, week-out. Hope the Markkanen family is proud of their son, ’cause the rest of us surely are.