The teammate got to see a more relaxed Lauri Markkanen.
Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen were quite unknown teammates before George traveled to Finland. PDO
The sports section of the American newspaper The New York Times The Athletic reports on an interesting story of a Finnish basketball star Lauri Markkanen and his teammates Keyonte George between.
George, who started with Markkanen in the Utah Jazz in 2023, traveled to Finland in the summer of 2024 because he wanted to get to know Markkanen better. George thought that he should take more leadership in the Jazz team and that one way to do that is to get to know Markkanen and find common ground with the Finn.
According to The Athletic, Markkanen showed George his old diploma, and the two also went to the gym. One moment in the gym in particular stuck in George’s mind.
– George saw how Markkanen interacted with his family members and other close people. But one conversation stuck out, The Athletic describes.
– The two walked to the gym, and Markkanen saw someone he knew. The two started talking, and the conversation turned into jokes and laughter. Markkanen showed his dry sense of humor, for which he is known among his close people.
George thought that he was standing in front of a completely different person than Markkanen, with whom he has played on the NBA floor.
The relationship between George and Markkanen was not particularly close before the American’s trip to Finland. One reason was simply that Markkanen is six years older. The two could be on the field at the same time, but there was little talk after the games.
Now Markkanen and George know each other better. Markkanen praises the American for traveling to Finland.
– I’ve always wanted to travel and I wanted to show Lauri that hey, I’m coming to you. That I want to see you in your own comfort zone. I wanted to build a relationship. I wanted to show that I really cared about him, George said.