The Finnish players of the Dallas Stars took advantage of the night off and went to watch Lauri Markkanen’s game.
Lauri Markkanen paid a visit to Dallas. Zumawire/Mvphotos
Selected for the opening of the NBA All-Star Game this season Lauri Markkanen played with the rest of the Utah Jazz crew on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday Finnish time in Dallas against the Mavericks.
In addition to the Mavericks, the arena American Airlines Center is also the home of the NHL club Dallas Stars. The hockey club, which is strongly represented by Finns, did not play on the same day and the players had not yet traveled to Buffalo.
In honor of a free evening, Stars’ Finnish players went to watch a basketball match. They took advantage of the opportunity and went to say hello to Markka at the same time.
Jazz published picture, where Markkanen holds a Stars jersey decorated with his name and game number. They stood by Jani Hakanpää, Roope Hintz and Joel Kiviranta. Defenders Miro Heiskanen and also the one playing with number 23 Esa Lindell were not present.
The photo aroused hilarity among Dallas fans, because especially the smart and hard-tackling Hakanpää looked smaller next to the 213-centimeter basketball player. The almost two-meter-tall 2019 world champion is the tallest player on his team, and the goalkeepers are also overshadowed by Pak.
The basketball match was twofold for Markkanen. The Finn bagged 33 points and was Kyrie Irving’s with the point king on the field, but the Mavericks won the game 120–116. The Jazz have lost three games in a row and dropped out of the playoff spots.