Former Cavaliers star goes out on a high note in World Cup

The Cleveland Cavaliers do not have much representation at the FIBA World Cup this summer. Nearly every team in the NBA has a player (or 5 – we see you Minnesota) suiting up for their home country, but the Cavs don’t have a single currently rostered player in the competition.

Ricky Rubio dropped out of the competition for mental health reasons, and otherwise, the Cavs’ roster is largely made up of American players this year. Next season both Isaiah and Evan Mobley could suit up for The Bahamas, and Donovan Mitchell could play for Team USA, but no one is competing this summer.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t Cleveland connections to watch and even root for. For American fans, championship-winning coach Ty Lue is on Steve Kerr’s staff for Team USA. Former Cavaliers role players such as Dante Exum and Edy Tavares are playing for Australia and Cape Verde, respectively. Jordan Clarkson is the star for a Philippines team that played host this summer.

The most recent and well-known former Cavaliers player, however, is one who has shown he can dominate in an international setting over the past two years. Lauri Markkanen is not only the best player for his native Finland but he has continued his star turn that began last summer at EuroBasket and continued through a breakout NBA season with the Utah Jazz that included an All-Star berth and the Most Improved Player award.

Markkanen was starting for the Cavs as recently as the 2021-22 season when he was a part of the “Triple Towers” starting lineup of three seven-foot players. After winning just 22 games the season before, Markkanen’s addition to the lineup was a catalyst for Cleveland to double that total and win 44 games. That success gave Cleveland the gumption to make a big trade, moving Markkanen as the centerpiece in a trade for Donovan Mitchell.

With some top international players sitting out this summer (none of Nikola Jokic, Kristaps Porzingis or Giannis Antetokounmpo played in the World Cup) it seemed to open up the path for Lauri Markkanen to lead Finland on a run as a dark horse candidate to make the quarterfinals.

Instead, Markkanen struggled as the focus of opposing defenses and wasn’t able to carry his country. He averaged 19.3 points per game but Finland lost all three of their games in the group stage, failing to qualify for the next round. They weren’t helped by being placed in the most difficult group in the entire field, the “Group of Death” if you will, but they weren’t able to pull out a single win.

From there, however, Markkanen found his groove. The versatile forward exploded for 34 points against Cape Verde and then 32 points against Venezuela, salvaging Finland’s tournament and keeping alive a tenuous path to qualify for the Olympics next summer (it’s a long shot).

Markkanen will hope to take that strong finish and parlay it into another All-Star season for the Utah Jazz. Some former players leave on a sour note, but Markkanen is a player it’s easy to root for even outside of Cleveland. It’s nice to see him ending his international play on a high note.