Out for a memorable encore after last year’s breakout season, the NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player of the Year has remained as steady and potent as ever. Graduating with a PhD in pick-and-pop proficiency, Lauri Markkanen works in perfect cohesion with a teammate, slipping the screen to move into a vacated area, draining a cold-blooded 3-pointer to grant his team a slight lead with just four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. On a night in which the suddenly-red-hot Utah Jazz tied for a franchise-record 154 points, the All-Star forward was both efficient and extraordinary. Needing just 18 shots for a 31-point, seven-rebound, one-block performance with four 3-pointers, Markkanen was a catalyst in the overtime win over the Detroit Pistons on January 3, 2024. · Jan 4, 2024