Petteri Koponen talks future of Finnish basketball, Markkanen, playing after near-deadly accident

In the first episode
of Eurohoops’ EurohooPOD for 2024, Antonis Stroggylakis and Cesare
Milanti host Finnish basketball great Petteri Koponen.

One of the best
shooters in EuroLeague during his playing days, Koponen explains why
he is optimistic about the future of Finnish basketball, talked about
the rise of the sport in his country over the last couple of years,
and the potential the national team has to go far in tournaments in
the future. A first-hand witness to Lauri Markkanen’s journey, he
discussed the Utah Jazz forward’s path from a top talent to an NBA
All-Star and how it has greatly impacted basketball in Finland in
many ways.

A EuroCup champion
and All-First Team member in 2015, Koponen looked back at his career,
from Virtus Bologna, the big successes with Khimki Moscow to an
unfortunate run with Barcelona and contributing to Bayern Munich
establishing themselves in EuroLeague. He also talked about a car
accident that “almost killed” him, his “rushed” recovery and
returning to basketball after this life-changing experience.