Chicago Bulls: 2018-19 player grades for Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen just completed his second NBA season for the Chicago Bulls. Here’s a recap of his season and his grade for the 2018-19 season.

The Chicago Bulls are quietly building a strong, young nucleus in their quest to rebuild their way back to prominence. One of their biggest pieces to filling the puzzle is forward Lauri Markkanen. The seven-footer from Finland has put his skills on display in the Windy City for two seasons now. Still just 21 years old, he’s become an integral part of the Bulls’ future, and his success directly correlates to the timeline for Chicago to return to the playoffs.

In 2018-19, Markkanen built upon his rookie season, averaging 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game on 43.0 percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent from long range. Despite not owning the nickname The Unicorn, like Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis, Markkanen’s game and statistics are quite comparable.

For example, in his second NBA season, Porzingis posted 18.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from 3-point range. Furthering the comparison, in his second season, the former New York Knick averaged 27.6 points per 100 possessions while posting a 17.4 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) while Markkanen posted 28.1 points per 100 possessions with a PER of 17.1.

All of this to say, Kristaps Porzingis has received tremendous media hype (and a great nickname), but so far, Lauri Markkanen has been close to his equal through two NBA seasons. Let’s take a look at how the Chicago Bull big man graded out for the 2018-19 campaign.