The headliner among Utah Jazz players that competed in the FIBA World Cup was Lauri Markkanen of Team Finland. Not only is he coming from his career year in the NBA, the Wolf Pack (Finland) also came off a successful 2022 Eurobasket – leading his nation to a quarterfinal berth.
After making the World Cup through the six windows of the FIBA qualifiers, Finland was drawn to Group E alongside Germany, Australia, and Japan. And being part of one of the more competitive groups in the tournament, the team struggled to get their groove in the group phase.