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A lot of NBA Draft prospects have interesting things sewn into their jackets that represent where they came from.
So naturally Arizona Wildcats big man Lauri Markkanen had a Finnish flag in his, and he flashed it to the world when he got on stage after being drafted 7th overall.
The big man @MarkkanenLauri with nothing but pride for his home country! #NBADraft
— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2017
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Markkanen is the first Finnish-born player to be drafted in the first round, and the only player to grow up in Finland to be drafted besides Hanno Mottola, who was selected in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks in 2000. Erik Murphy was born to a Finnish mother in France, but spent much of his younger life in the United States before being selected in the 2013 Draft.
It was a big day in Markkanen fashion, as Lauri’s dad Pekka sported a great shirt on Thursday morning.
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