Some countries have compulsory military service as part of their laws. One of those countries is Finland, where Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen is from. It seems as though Markkanen may have to do what other men do from his country do, and enlist.
An article on TalkBasket recently revealed that Lauri Markkanen may have to “serve in a special “Sports School” unit” that will help him fulfill the requirement while also training for basketball.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen has been included in the Finnish Defense Forces Sports School list, meaning the NBA player may need to serve in the Finnish military.
In general, men in Finland have to go through military service by the age of 28. Professional athletes are designated to serve in a special ‘Sports School’ unit that is meant to help athletes train while completing their military service.
The military service is supposed to start on April 11th, 2022, one day after the NBA regular season ends. The shortest military service to be fulfilled for an athlete is 165 days. It is currently unclear how Markkanen will complete his obligation to the country or if he will serve in the military at all.
We’ll see if Lauri Markkanen has to serve in the military in the future. As of now though, his focus will be on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are fighting for a playoff spot and are 7th in the Eastern Conference. Markkanen is currently averaging 14.6 PPG and 5.8 RPG for the team. Markkanen is currently a part of a young squad with a promising future featuring Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
Hopefully, we receive an update soon. In theory, Lauri Markkanen should be able to complete his minimum of 165 days of military service prior to the start of the 2022-2023 season. Perhaps he’ll be able to figure something out and avoid it, but as of now, he seems poised for some sort of commitment to the military.
