Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - DECEMBER 01: Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz looks on during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Delta Center on December 01, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
He is currently at EuroBasket 2025, playing for his native Finland, and setting records for consecutive 40-point performances. But when Lauri Markkanen returns to the NBA at the tournament’s end, he will have to contend with the fact that he owns an altogether much less pleasant record as well.
With 450 appearances across his eight NBA seasons to date, Markkanen is currently the active leader in most regular season games played without ever making a postseason appearance. He is not just the highest-ranked active player, either; he is also ranked as high as 17th all-time in NBA history.
And unless his Utah Jazz team are able to turn things around in the coming months, Markkanen could soon rank as high as seventh.
Markkanen’s Unfortunate Streak
If Markkanen plays a full campaign in the upcoming 2025-26 season, and is not traded during it to a playoff team, he could in theory finish the year with 532 playoff-less appearances. This would move him past Brandon Knight (451), Milt Palacio (470), Terry Davis (480), Ryan Gomes (487), Lee Mayberry (496), Geoff Huston (also 496), Doug Overton (499) and Eddy Curry (527) into the seventh-spot all time. At that point, Markkanen would trail only Popeye Jones (535), Sebastian Telfair (564), Omri Casspi (588), Nate Williams (642), Otto Moore (582) and the unassailable Tom Van Arsdale (929) on the list.
Some of those names played in eras where the NBA was very different. Player movement was minimal, and the postseason was smaller. Nevertheless, the other active players in the all-time top 50 list are Miles Bridges (424), Collin Sexton (407), Keldon Johnson (370), Deni Avdija (359), Christian Wood (339), Dennis Smith Jr (326), K.J. Martin (309) and Devin Vassell (303). With the exception of Wood, none of those players have has as many barren seasons as the Finn has.
Half of the NBA makes the playoffs every season. And yet Markkanen has now missed it eight times.
No Jazz Redemption Any Time Soon
Unfortunately for Markkanen, if his personal streak is going to end, it is not likely to happen this season in Utah.
After dismantling the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert era of Jazz basketball, the team has floundered for a direction. Initially armed with enough decent players to put together a 37-win season in 2022-23 – a year in which Markkanen won the league’s Most Improved Player award, having averaged 25.6 points per game – the Jazz have slowly fallen away year on year, to the point that they bottomed out last season with a 17-65 record.
Every year since the Quin Snyder era, the Jazz have lost more talent than they have gained. And when they make moves like trading Sexton for Jusuf Nurkic – while attaching a future second-round pick, no less – the front office are making it clear that they do not intend to compile a competitive team any time soon.
There exists hope for the future. 2025 #5 pick Ace Bailey will get plenty of opportunity in Sexton’s absence, while amid the struggles of last season, third-year guard Keyonte George was able to put together averages of 16.8 points and 5.6 assists per game. Kyle Sophomore Kyle Filipowski had some solid moments as a modern-day five man, Brice Sensabaugh showed scoring chops off the bench, and Isaiah Collier can defend, at least.
The fact that the Jazz are positioning for the future, though, does not change Markkanen’s infamy in the now. At some point, the Jazz will surely trade him, for he is a coveted and quality player operating on a different timeline to them. Yet unless they do so to a playoff team, Markkanen’s ignominious streak that dates back to his time with the Chicago Bulls will continue. One that does no justice to his talent.