Lauri Markkanen riding his bike down the Harju hill right near the center of Jyväskylä a little after eight in the morning. Due to the summer vacation time, the traffic is quiet when the basketball star, who is wearing a bicycle helmet to cool himself down, goes to the gym on the ground floor of the apartment building.
There, a physical trainer and a sports physiotherapist are waiting for the Utah Jazz star basketball player Jani Parkkinenwhich has had a great influence on the kind of player Markkanen is today.
The two met for the first time in the summer of 2021, when Markkanen was looking for a coach for a big change project after a difficult season with the Chicago Bulls.
At that time, 22-year-old Markkanen approached Parkki in a way typical of today’s youth.
– Don’t the youth always slide into DM, so I put a message on Instagram asking if there was time for one more client, Markkanen says with a smile in an interview with Urheilu.
Markkanen had done background work and asked acquaintances who had trained with Parkkinen for longer.
– My older brother has also trained with Jani. The feedback was only positive, that the guy knows what he’s doing.
Parkkinen says that he remembers the situation well and his own reaction when Markkanen had approached him with a proposal for liaison work.
– At first it felt scary, because I have such an impostor syndrome that I never feel that I am ready enough, good enough or know enough. After the reel played in my head, my thoughts also changed. I’ve been doing this for a long time and have undergone a lot of training, so that I can handle this matter, says Parkkinen.
– After that, only towards the challenge, because this is a unique opportunity in Finnish professional sports to get into this kind of role. Very cool.
When the collaboration began, Markkanen gave Parkkinen a big challenge.
He wanted to restore himself to a more athletic shape. In the early stages of his NBA career, the Bulls tried to turn the 213-centimeter Finn into a three-pointer and roaring muscle bundle under the basket.
Markkanen was never satisfied with the way the Bulls tried to use him on the field. The Jyväskylä native gained muscle mass in the Bulls shirt, which ate up his strongest weapon on the field, i.e. speed.
Markkanen wanted to be much more versatile and do more with the ball in hand than throw threes. During Parkkinen’s training, Markkanen’s body was modified in a completely different direction than what had been done at the Chicago club.
– I wanted to feel more explosive, more athletic and faster. These things are difficult to train alone, because, for example, the rest periods must be of a certain length and the sets of movements must be combined. Jani has done a really good job at it and the results have been excellent, says Markkanen.
Everything went smoothly from the beginning
If Markkanen had previously sought bigger muscles and more mass, in the initial phase of the collaboration, things were done completely the opposite. According to Markkanen, for example, dunking was significantly more challenging than it is now before the start of the coaching relationship.
Clear development targets were also found in the maximum power levels. During the two years, the strength levels have improved significantly, which is why Markkanen is now significantly more versatile than at the beginning of his NBA career.
Parkkinen says that the goal was to make Finland’s only NBA star faster and more muscular.
– It doesn’t just happen by snapping your fingers. For some reason, everything went really well for us from the beginning. We achieved the results we wanted very quickly. Lauri told me very quickly that now my body feels good and things are moving in the right direction, says Parkkinen.
In the summer of 2021, Markkanen told Urheilu in an interview that he wants to leave the Chicago Bulls organization.
In the end, Markkanen accepted the Cavaliers’ four-year contract offer and a new home was found in Cleveland. At that time, Markkanen and Parkkinen had only been working together for a few months, but the results started to show right away.
In the Cavaliers shirt, the Finn initially came on the field from the substitution by Evan Mobley to the place. Finally, the head coach Bernie Bickerstaff noticed Markkanen’s change as a player and in the future found a place to play as a small winger in the starting five, when he had to defend faster players with a three-point arc.
The second summer together with Parkkinen culminated in Markkanen’s dominance in the European Championship, where he scored 27.9 points per game for Finland and led Susijeng to the quarterfinals for the first time in the European Championship played under the current system.
Just before the start of the European Championships, the Cavaliers traded Markkanen to the Utah Jazz in a trade for a superstar to Donovan Mitchell. The move, which seemed like a shock at first, turned into a gold mine for the Finnish player.
He had by far the best NBA season of his career, averaging 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. In addition, he was selected he was selected for the starting five of the All Star game and at the end of the season as the most improved player of the year.
Markkanen’s career in the NBA got a new start in the Jazz jersey.
– A big thank you goes to Jan. Of course I have to do the work, but the fact that I’ve had the right kind of program and done the right things. I would even say that to a certain extent Jani has saved my career, says Markkanen
Parkkinen has also watched his coach’s achievements in the NBA with satisfaction. The hard work has not been wasted.
– That’s the best compliment you can get as a coach. That’s why Lauri has hired me, that results will come. If he didn’t come, he would certainly hire someone else, says Parkkinen.
“I haven’t been stressed if a single exercise has been missed because of the forest camp”
Now it’s time to work again. Markkanen first does explosive back squats under the watchful eye of Parkkinen. After that, he grabs an exercise ball and throws it at the wall with such force that the whole house shakes.
This summer’s training will focus on the same things as before. Markkanen’s still-unfinished military service has brought its own challenge, which is why training has still been irregular.
– The situation is what it is, and it is by no means an ideal situation. Let’s do what we can. If you think that there are still two months to the World Championships and we will soon get the training going properly, then there is absolutely no reason to worry, says Parkkinen.
Currently, the duo is working on the basic fitness season. The time for more precise focusing is later.
Markkanen takes a calm attitude to the training interruptions caused by military service.
– I haven’t been stressed if a single practice has been missed because of the forest camp. I understand this situation, the army needs to be taken care of. I’ve had free time in the evenings, so I’ve been able to visit the gym then. I feel that I have also developed during my military service, believes Markkanen.
Markkanen’s busiest rookie season in the army is slowly coming to an end, and full-scale training for the World Cup, which will be played at the turn of August and September, and the upcoming NBA season will start in earnest when the sports commissions roll.
Markkanen says he enjoyed his first months in the service of the Defense Forces.
– I’ve actually had a lot of fun. I didn’t know what to expect, even though I had talked with my friends and older brothers about what was to come. I was nervous about such a new challenge at first, but I have made good friends there, says Markkanen.
A demanding starting group in the World Championships
For the first time, the results of summer training will be measured at the World Basketball Championships at the turn of August-September on the island of Okinawa in Japan. At that time, Susijeng’s biggest star wants to dominate the World Cup parquet in the same way as a year ago in the European Championship final tournament in Berlin.
Susigengi was drawn into a tough group, where, in addition to the host Japan, they will face Australia, which is fourth in the FIBA ranking.
– We are facing really tough gangs. It’s really great to be able to compete against tough players. We also have a really tough team. Of course, it also tickles that after the World Cup, the new NBA season is at the door again. I know I’ll be in great shape again for that too.
The work done in summer training is directed towards a long and tough NBA season.
The Utah Jazz pay Markkanen a hefty annual salary of 16 million euros, so according to physical trainer Parkkinen, all training must serve only one purpose.
– Although there was talk about speed and explosiveness, the number one priority is that Lauri would remain fit for a long season. If we can do something to lower the risk of injury, that is our priority and we do a lot of it.