Before the start of his rookie NBA season with the Chicago Bulls, Lauri Markkanen is taking part in EuroBasket 2017 for his home country of Finland.

The Finisher is back! After having quite a summer, Lauri Markkanen is showcasing his skills overseas in EuroBasket 2017 for Finland. Playing in the NBA is one thing, but then playing for your home country in the European Championship is the ultimate!

EuroBasket has been going on every two years since 1947 – that’s almost 70 years ago! It is the “Super Bowl” of European Basketball. This year they are using the two stage method: round robin used for stage one and knockout stage in round two.

Finland is in Group A with Slovenia, Greece, Poland, France, and Iceland. Also, Finland is one of the four hosts and looking to win its first EuroBasket championship (and first possible medal).

They are currently 1-1 in group play. In the two games played, Markkanen has averaged 23 points and seven rebounds leading his team in both categories.

The first game against France, Markkanen led his team to victory in overtime 86-84 in front of a record breaking home crowd of over 12,000 Fins! He had 22 points, including six straight makes in overtime – Magic Marrkkanen is on fire!

The touch that he displays inside and out – you can’t teach that! Combine his skill set with the passion and desire to be great – that’s exciting to watch! The Chicago Bulls are lucky to have such a player. Another great quality about Markkanen is the appreciation he shows his fans:

Great team win in front of the best fans! On to the next one.. 😈 #EuroBasket2017 #Susijengi🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/Cq25hRfwOL — Lauri Markkanen (@MarkkanenLauri) August 31, 2017

In the second game of round robin play, Finland game up just short against Slovenia, 81-78. Markkanen put up a solid showing with 24 points and seven rebounds. He even had a chance to tie it at the end with a three, but stepped out of bounds and injured himself at the same time:

Markkanen steps out of bounds on game-tying attempt, injures himself on the play. He's being helped off the court after the game. pic.twitter.com/uQWBegS5Zk — Stephen Noh (@StephNoh) September 2, 2017

There is good news though:

Hearing from Bulls personnel that Markkanen's injury isn't bad, and it's likely he plays Sunday https://t.co/qMom6yIjlX — Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) September 2, 2017

Zona Zealots is thrilled to see Markkanen dominating overseas and representing what it means to Bear Down!

Next up for Finland:

Who: Poland

When: 8:00 pm EST on ESPN

Where: Helsinki, Helsinki Arena