The Utah Jazz nearly played their way into the playoffs in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the club. At one point they were the top team in the West, and no one knew why. It was perplexing. Though, not really, as it was obvious why; the emergence of Lauri Markkanen.
Markkanen, dubbed the “Finnisher” (great nickname), broke out in the ’22-’23 season and made his first All-Star team by averaging 25.6 and 8.6 rebounds per game, all while averaging 49.9% from the floor and 39.1% from three. He was super efficient and couldn’t be stopped no matter who he was up against.