A Guide to the Finland Men’s Basketball Team
The Finland men’s basketball team, known by their fans as Susijengi (‘The Wolf Pack’), hold the highest FIBA ranking of all the Nordic countries. Although they’re yet to claim a medal at a major international basketball tournament, they’ve qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup twice, made two appearances at the Olympics and featured in 17 FIBA EuroBasket tournaments.
Discover everything there is to know about the Finland men’s basketball team with the help of this comprehensive guide from the team at Courtside 1891.
2024 Olympics - Men's Basketball
The Finland men's basketball team are confirmed as one of the 24 nations that will compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024, which you can stream live with Courtside 1891. The tournaments are currently scheduled for July 2-7 2024.
Having placed 21st at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, The Wolf Pack will head to Spain, where they will face Bahamas (July 2), and Poland (July 4) in Valencia, before potentially embarking in the Semi-Finals.
Finland will head to Valencia without their star player, Lauri Markkanen, who will focus on his health ahead of the 2024-25 season with the Utah Jazz. The Wolf Pack's goal? Getting a Summer Olympics spot after Tokyo 1964, where they finished 11th.
How Did Finland Do At The FIBA World Cup 2023?
Here are the key stats from Finland's FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign:
- → Final Standing: 21st
- → Results: Played 5 Won 2 Lost 3
- → Top Points Scorer: Lauri Markkanen 124 PTS (24.8 PPG)
- → Top Assist Provider: Miro Little 23 AST (4.6 APG)
- → Most Efficient Player: Lauri Markkanen 24.0 EPG
Given their flying qualifying form, Finland was fancied to make more of a splash at the World Cup. But a 0-3 Group E record was a shock to the system before the Scandanavians recovered to rout Cape Verde and Venezuela in their two classification games.
Star player Lauri Markkanen put up big numbers as the focal point of the team, averaging nearly 25 points along with 8 rebounds. Unfortunately for Finland, his shot wasn't falling from 3, shooting 25%. He missed all 6 of his attempts against champions Germany in the group phase before improving to help Finland finish on a positive note and give them a shot of playing at the 2024 Olympic Games when the qualifiers come around in the summer of 2024.
Enjoy Lauri Markkanen's dominant 32-point performance against Venezuela, below
Lauri Markkanen - Game MVP - Finland v Venezuela
Current Star Players
Basketball Finland, the team’s governing body, announced an extended roster for the FIBA 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
The main news was the absence of Lauri Markkanen. As well as excelling in the four qualification games he featured in, Markkanen has been a star of the Finland basketball team for the past couple of years. At FIBA EuroBasket 2022, he memorably poured in 43 points to lift The Wolf Pack past Croatia in the round of 16. He then almost made enough plays to take them past Spain, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals.
He continued with an impressive FIBA World Cup performance in 2023, with 24.8ppg as the Susijengi settled for a respectable 21st place.
The void Markkanen has left will have to be picked up by his teammates. In all likelihood, Paris Basketball's Mikael Jantunen will have to pick up most of the offensive responsibility. United with Finnish head coach Tuomas Iisalo, the 6 ft 8 forward out of Utah helped Paris Basketball secure their first-ever EuroCup.
He will need help from captain Sasu Salin. The 33 year old veteran will provide spacing and comes off a mixed season where he was good at moments for Lenovo Tenerife en route to their run in the Liga Endesa Playoffs and Basketball Champions League final.
Coviran Granada player Elias Valtonen will be looking to step up for his country after being solid in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, while Alexander Madsen could be asked to perform to a similar level to what the big man did in the recent EuroBasket qualifiers.
Legends of the Team
Many players on the current Finland roster are fan favorites. However, one name currently stands above all others in the pantheon of greats: Petteri Koponen.
A talented playmaker who could play at both guard positions, Koponen was a near ever-present for Finland over the years. He represented the side at a number of top tournaments, including four editions of Eurobasket and the 2014 World Cup.
He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2007 NBA Draft. However, he never featured in the NBA and his draft rights were traded to Portland and then Dallas. He’s since played for a host of top European teams, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
How to Watch Finland Men's Basketball
With Courtside 1891, worldwide fans can watch Finland compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (FOQTs) 2024. We stream every game of FIBA international tournaments as well as other competitions from around the world.
As FIBA’s premium streaming partner for the World Cup, Courtside 1891 provided access to every 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup game! Watch the competition's biggest games and best moments on-demand on our FIBA Basketball World Cup page.
The best way to make sure that you never miss a single second of the upcoming action is to download our app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play, or sign up to our website platform. Please be aware that, due to broadcasting rights and restrictions, access to some games might be restricted depending on your location. See our where-to-watch page for full details of upcoming competitions.
Looking for the latest results from the world of basketball? Head over to the Courtside 1891 Game Center. Here you’ll also find matchup times in your country as well as easy-to-access game highlights you can watch when you register with Courtside 1891.
