Lauri Markkanen gets some recognition for his stellar play

The Utah Jazz have been on a roll lately, winning 5 straight games and getting over the .500 mark for the season at 21-20 after a 7-16 start to the season. It was only a matter of time before people started noticing their success.

On Monday, the NBA named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week for January 7-14, honoring Bam Abedayo of the Miami Heat and our very own Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.

Lauri averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block per game in a week where the Jazz went 4-0 and defeated Milwaukee, Denver, Toronto, and the LA Lakers.

Over his last 12 games, Lauri has averaged near 50/40/90 shooting splits (.505/.418/.896) since missing time with a hamstring injury, at just the right time for All-Star consideration. He was selected as a first-time All-Star for 2022-23 by the coaches and should have a good argument for inclusion this season as well.

The trade to acquire Lauri Markkanen from Cleveland looks like a bigger steal for the Jazz with each passing day. Let's hope Lauri can keep rolling and get the Jazz deeper into the playoff hunt from here on out. If he does, he should have more awards coming by the season's end, as well as a fat contract extension to boot.