Lauri Markkanen and summer training: more strength

Lauri Markkanen is pleased with her last season, which was the man’s first in the state of Ohio and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

– The new venue brought new challenges, in that sense I am satisfied with the season. Good feelings about the season remained. I learned a lot new, the NBA star tells Iltalehti.

In Cavaliers, the resident of Jyväskylä was adapted to the role of third place.

Markkanen played a total of 61 matches. The average score per match was 14.8. The threes dropped 35.8 percent, and the Finns snapped 5.7 rebounds per match.

No bad energy

Markkanen was blessed with 30.8 minutes of playing time in the match.

– It was a fun year.

What do you mean?

– There was no bad energy in the team. The whole team, from owners and coaches to physiotherapists, all got along well with each other.

– Although there was a defeat, no one was stunned. Of course, things were handled carefully, then the matter remained, Markkanen, 25, explains.

However, Markkanen does not want to compare the Cavaliers’ team spirit to the Bulls era.

– There were no problems in Chicago either. Somehow things just fell into place in Cleveland, the basketball player thinks about the table of his partly owned Hook sprint bar in the center of Jyväskylä.

Cleveland’s basketball pride in the Cavaliers rushed home to the playoffs, but losses in the final rounds dropped it to the playoffs. There the road rose.

– The team was a little short. We can do better.

Frisbee golf

After the season, Markkanen took a well-deserved break.

– I took a three-week break from training. Then we started again. It’s been a while.

In the summer, Markkanen shuttles between Jyväskylä and the capital.

– They both have friends and relatives. If we could choose, the better half would probably be in Helsinki and I would be more here in Jyväskylä, the player laughs.

Markkanen and Vernaspouse has two children.

– Summer is a lot to be with family, seeing relatives and friends. It’s a vacation for me. There is so much travel during the season.

– Frisbee golf is the only activity I do in the summer, Markkanen says.

To the constellation

The second-generation basketball player has five seasons behind in the world’s toughest basketball league.

Are you a player now at the level you would like to be at age 25?

– Well yeah. There are so many different factors in a sport that affect when you can succeed.

– I can still improve. There is still a long way to go. But I went ahead last season.

The player considers his goals for a moment.

– Championship is always sought. I would like to get the most out of myself every day I put everything in the game. When I give my all to the game, there is nothing more I can do.

– I may not have any real personal goals. An all star team is one of those, it has always been a goal. The goals come if the team is good and succeeds, Markkanen reminds.

Workout on

The summer weeks are naturally important for Markkanen in terms of training.

– Jani Parkkisen with the physical side is done. Sport training is separate.

Parkkinen is a former basketball player and current physiotherapist. The duo are now collaborating for another summer.

– Lauri does a physical training four times a week. Sports training comes on top of that, especially as we get closer to the start of the games. In the morning he usually has a physics side in the program, in the evening he has a sports workout.

– There’s a lot to do. Speed ​​and explosiveness need to be developed for Lauri to succeed in the NBA.

– We do, among other things, jumping exercises without a load and with a load. There are also short sprints and runs in the training program. And different variations of these, Parkkinen says.

– Maximum power is also provided. It is important for the body to last a long time. More power is sought for the entire body, squats are worked on and the lower body is made in many ways, Parkkinen says.

The physics club refuses to disclose the NBA star’s maximum strength results.

– Sun has to ask Lauri.

Humble star

Lauri Markkanen is the most famous active athlete in Finland and Valtteri Bottas. The man has a four-year contract with the Cavaliers worth about € 67 million (average salary, $ 16.75 million a year).

In training, a multimillionaire doesn’t bother.

– Lauri is really humble to make a dune. He does what is asked, of course he also wants arguments. And gives feedback on how the body feels.

The conversation between the coach and the athlete is important.

– Often the athlete’s intuition is right in these matters, continues Parkkinen, who trains almost all professional basketball players in the Jyväskylä region during the summer.

– In Lauri’s training, managing the overall load is important, and co-operation with the people on the national team works, Parkkinen explains.