Chicago Bulls (2017–2021) Markkanen was drafted by the
Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh pick of the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. On draft night, his rights were traded to the
Chicago Bulls along with
Zach LaVine and
Kris Dunn for
Jimmy Butler and the rights to
Justin Patton. On 5 July 2017, Markkanen signed with the Bulls on a four-year rookie scale contract worth $20.4 million.
2017–18 season On 19 October 2017, Markkanen made his NBA debut with the Bulls and scored 17 points. Markkanen then set an NBA record on 24 October, for most 3-pointers in the first three games of an NBA career with ten 3-pointers. Markkanen also asked former NBA player
Brian Scalabrine to use his number 24, which Brian allowed. On 30 December, Markkanen scored a career-high 32 points and seven rebounds in a 119–107 win against the
Indiana Pacers. On 10 January 2018, Markkanen played a career-high 46 minutes, scored a career-high 33 points along with a career-high eight 3-pointers in a double overtime 122–119 win against the
New York Knicks. This made him the second seven-foot player to make eight three-pointers in a game (the first being
Dirk Nowitzki). On 22 January, he grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds against the
New Orleans Pelicans. Four days later, Markkanen blocked a career-high three shots against the
Los Angeles Lakers. After scoring seventeen points against the
Milwaukee Bucks on 28 January 2018, Markkanen surpassed
Hanno Möttölä (715) as the career leading scorer among NBA players from Finland. On 22 May 2018, he was named to the
NBA All-Rookie First Team. He ended his rookie season leading the Bulls in rebounds with 7.5 and fourth in scoring with 15.2; his 14 double-doubles was third among rookies behind
Kyle Kuzma and
Ben Simmons.
2018–19 season Markkanen missed the first 23 games of the season. He had a career-high 19 rebounds in a loss to the
Brooklyn Nets on 28 January. He also had 31 points and 18 rebounds in a win over Brooklyn on 8 February; a career-high 35 points along with 15 rebounds in a win over the
Boston Celtics on 23 February; and 31 points and 17 rebounds in win over the
Atlanta Hawks on 1 March. On 28 March, Markkanen was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing tests for his health problems, which he experienced in a 26 March game against the
Toronto Raptors. In the 52 games he did play, he was second on the team with 18.7 points and first with 9.0 rebounds and 20 double-doubles (fourth in the NBA).
2019–20 season Markkanen began the season tying a career-high with 35 points along with 17 rebounds in a one-point loss to the
Charlotte Hornets, the most opening-day points by a Chicago Bull since
Michael Jordan in 1995.
2020–21 season On 30 January 2021, Markkanen scored a season-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from three in a 122–123 loss to the
Portland Trail Blazers. After the Bulls added veteran big men
Daniel Theis and
Nikola Vučević to their roster to fortify their frontcourt, Markkanen lost his starting spot. On 29 March, Markkanen came off the bench for the first time during the season and the second in his 194 career games, he finished with 13 points, six rebounds and an assist across 22 minutes in a 102–116 loss to the
Golden State Warriors. In a game against the
Memphis Grizzlies on 12 April, Markkanen went scoreless for the first time in his career.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2021–2022) in a January 2022 game On 28 August 2021, Markkanen was acquired by the
Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team sign-and-trade also involving the
Portland Trail Blazers. Markkanen reportedly signed a four-year contract worth $67.5 million to complete the deal. He made his Cavaliers debut on October 20, recording ten points and nine rebounds in a 132–121 loss to the
Memphis Grizzlies. On March 18, 2022, he scored a season-high 31 points, alongside ten rebounds and four steals, in a 119–116 overtime win over the
Denver Nuggets. During his lone season in Cleveland, Markkanen averaged 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 45% from the field and 36% on 3 point shots. Markkanen was the starting
small forward for the Cavs for the majority of the season, and he along with rookie starting power forward
Evan Mobley and starting center
Jarrett Allen formed "Tower City" (a reference to the
Cleveland RTA hub of the same name) going against the widely accepted NBA
small ball strategy and instead using 3
big men in the starting lineup. The strategy paid off, as the Cavs ended the year 7th in
defensive rating and Markkanen put up career highs in defensive metrics.
Utah Jazz (2022–present) On 1 September 2022, Markkanen was traded, alongside
Ochai Agbaji,
Collin Sexton, three first round picks, and two pick swaps, to the
Utah Jazz in exchange for
Donovan Mitchell.
2022–23 season On 18 November, Markkanen scored a then career-high 38 points on 15-of-18 shooting from the field, in a 134–133 win over the
Phoenix Suns. On 22 December, Markkanen set a career-high with nine three-pointers on 13 attempts while also tying his then career-high 38 points in a 126–111 win over the
Detroit Pistons. On 5 January 2023, Markkanen put up a then career-high with 49 points, alongside eight rebounds, in a 131–114 win against the
Houston Rockets. On 2 February, Markkanen was named to his first ever
NBA All-Star game as a reserve for the Western Conference. Markkanen also become the first NBA All-Star born in a
Nordic country. On 10 February, it was announced that Markkanen had been named a starter in the All-Star game as a result of injuries to
Stephen Curry and
Zion Williamson. On February 23, Markkanen scored 18 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 120–119 overtime win over the
Oklahoma City Thunder. On April 24, 2023, Markkanen was named the
2022–23 NBA Most Improved Player, winning over
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and
Jalen Brunson. During the season, Markkanen recorded 28 double-doubles in 66 games played, making it his single-season's record.
2023–24 season On 19 November 2023, Markkanen played his career's second-highest 50 minutes in a 140–137 double-overtime loss against the
Phoenix Suns, scoring a season-high 38 points and grabbed another season-high 17 rebounds in the game. Markkanen suffered a hamstring injury and missed eight games, before returning to line-up on 14 December 2023. On 15 December 2023, it was reported that Markkanen appeared to no longer be an off-limits, "untouchable" figure on the Jazz, concerning any trade possibilities, as the interest in him grew around the league. On 15 January 2024, Markkanen was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week, for the first time in his career. On 18 January 2024, it was reported that the Jazz are determined to build around Markkanen long-term as their franchise player, and are expected to re-negotiate and extend his current deal in summer 2024. He missed the last part of the season partly due to a shoulder injury and partly due to
tanking. On 7 August 2024, after Markkanen had been linked with trade speculations to the
Golden State Warriors the whole summer, he signed a contract extension with the Jazz, on a five-year deal worth $238 million, surpassing
Kimi Räikkönen to become the highest earning Finnish athlete ever.
2024–25 season On 23 October, in the first game of the season, Markkanen recorded 35 points and nine rebounds, in a 126–124 home loss against
Memphis Grizzlies, the team coached by his fellow-countryman
Tuomas Iisalo. For the rest of the season, he was mostly sidelined due to tanking, for which the Jazz were fined $100,000 by the league.
2025–26 season On 27 October, Markkanen put up a new career-high 51 points, along with 14 rebounds, in a 138–134 overtime win over the
Phoenix Suns. He became the first Jazz player to break the 50-point mark in a regular season game since
Karl Malone on 7 April 1998. On 16 November, Markkanen scored 47 points in a 150–147 double-overtime win over the
Chicago Bulls. He had his second consecutive 40-point game for the Jazz, hitting that mark in back-to-back games for the first time in his NBA career. ==National team career==