Utah Jazz forward leads Finland with 29 points in Round of 16 victory.
(Getty Images via The Athletic)
Finland’s Lauri Markkanen, left, goes to the basket against Serbia’s Nikola Jokic during Finland’s victory in a Eurobasket 2025 Round of 16 game on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Riga, Latvia.
Nikola Jokic’s Serbia entered the 2025 Eurobasket tournament as the consensus favorites to win Europe’s most significant international basketball event outside of the Olympics. They will instead depart empty-handed thanks to an upset by a Nordic nation, led by its own NBA All-Star.
With 29 points from Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Finland, ranked 20th in the world entering this tournament, upset Jokić’s Serbia 92-86 in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Riga, Latvia, sending Jokic’s team home in this round for the second consecutive Eurobasket tournament.
Jokić led Serbia with 33 points and eight rebounds, but struggled to defend in space late in the fourth quarter. After Jokic’s two free throws gave Serbia a 77-75 lead with just under five minutes to play, Finland ripped off a 14-4 run to seal its victory. Elias Valtonen, Finland’s small forward who Jokic often switched onto to avoid picking up his fifth foul, drained a three-pointer with 1:59 remaining, secured a putback layup a possession later and nailed another right-wing triple over Jokic to give Finland a decisive six-point lead with less than a minute left. Finland grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, including four apiece from Markkanen and Valtonen.
Led by Markannen, Finland’s national program has experienced a resurgence in recent years. It reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 Eurobasket tournament and eventually finished seventh, its highest finish since earning sixth place in 1967. It did not reach the Olympics in 2024 but surprised many by reaching the final of the qualifying tournament before losing to Spain. This victory over Serbia, though, is by far the most significant in program history.
Meanwhile, Jokic and Serbia must ponder another disappointing Eurobasket finish. After earning bronze in the 2024 Olympics, Serbia brought a stacked roster to this tournament, led by Jokic and nine other players with NBA experience. As The Athletic’s Zach Harper wrote in his tournament preview: “There is so much top talent on this squad that there really isn’t a reason to expect anything less than a gold medal.” Despite an injury to Bogdan Bogdanovic, its most decorated international guard and sidekick to Jokic, Serbia had more than enough firepower to compete for the gold. Instead, Serbia will suffer a Round of 16 defeat once again, having lost to Italy in 2022 after winning its five group stage games.
Finland will now play the winner of Sunday’s Round of 16 matchup between France and Georgia in the quarterfinals.