Imagine you’re a high school-aged basketball player in Finland, young and full of life. Confidence is oozing through you as you make a reverse lay-up during warmups. The coach calls you over and points out your man. You look. You cry.
A six-foot-ten 16-year-old by the name of Lauri Markkanen stands on the court with only a smile that a future No. 7 overall pick can have. The games over before it even started. Yeah, Markkanen might as well have been a cheat code during his high school days.
Check it out:
Enjoy this video of 16-year-old Lauri Markkanen DOMINATING Finland high school basketball. Lauri at this time was 6 foot 10, and while playing small-forward he averaged 24.2 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 61%! pic.twitter.com/zm6VSa8LG7
— Josh (@JoshJBullsHoops) September 19, 2019
How unfair is that? What’s even crazier to think is Markkanen was playing the small forward position at the time, which I can only imagine created some intense mismatches. I know all NBA players are normally insane in high school, but, come one, shooting 61 percent!? My goodness.
Anyway, I feel so bad for all these children who had their basketball hopes and dreams crushed by The Finnisher.